Rolesville girls’ basketball rallies past Charlotte Catholic to win NC 4A state title
Wake Forest’s Rolesville High School beat Charlotte Catholic, 65-58, Saturday in the Joel Coliseum to become the second straight N.C. 4A girls’ basketball state champion from Wake County.
And it’s becoming a trend.
Cary’s Panther Creek High won the 2023 state title, beating Lake Norman, and Southeast Raleigh shared the 2020 championship with Charlotte’s Chambers High after the N.C. High School Athletic Association stopped the playoffs after the state semifinals because of the pandemic.
Rolesville (27-5) set a school record for wins and won the first team state championship in school history.
“The motto of today’s game was the last dance,” Rolesville coach Nikita Warren said. “And we wanted to make sure we finished the last dance.”
As for how the Rams did it?
Like a good middle distance runner, Rolesville hung with the taller Cougars (27-5), who were favored, and came home with a finishing kick that Catholic couldn’t keep up with.
By the end of the game, Rolesville had out-rebounded the Cougars 29-26 and had more points in the paint (34-32).
“We were playing from behind,” Warren said. “We got in foul trouble a little early and they got to the free-throw line a little too much in the first half, but we were able to lock in, not give up. The game’s not over. We’re going to fight. We’re going to keep pushing until (the final) buzzer.”
The Cougars helped, too, with a spate of unforced turnovers down the stretch and some poor shot attempts that led to a pair of run-out baskets from Camryn Lee that finally gave Rolesville the lead with 3:35 to play, at 52-50.
Catholic’s Gracynn Gough gave her team back the lead with a 3-pointer at the top of the key with 3:12 left.
But after that, Catholic didn’t score a field goal until less than a minute left. By then, championship MVP Caitlyn Jones (27 points, seven assists) had nailed a runner and made seven free throws to give her team an eight-point lead with 16 seconds left.
It was more than enough.
Catholic was trying to become the sixth Mecklenburg County 4A state champion in the past 10 years, following Myers Park (2014, 2015) and Chambers (2020-22).
“Every time we made a lead, they kept themselves in it,” Catholic coach Bobby Conrad said. “But I’m proud of these girls. They fought. It’s been a heck of a run. This team has been to three Final Fours in three years and a state championship at a time when I feel basketball is as good as it’s ever been, certainly in our area.
“At the end of this, I look at these ladies and what they’ve done, and I’m just incredibly proud of them. I’m not going to let five minutes of basketball define the legacy they’ve left on our school, on our program, and that legacy’s huge.”
Three who made a difference
Caitlyn Jones, Rolesville: Jones made just 8 of 22 shot attempts but kept constant pressure on Catholic’s defense with her speed and dribble. She finished with 27 points, seven assists and three rebounds. Jones also made 11 of 12 free-throw attempts.
Camryn Lee, Rolesville: Her back-to-back buckets in the fourth quarter tied the game and gave her team its first lead of the game. She finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds.
Blanca Thomas, Charlotte Catholic: The UNC recruit and Jordan Brand All-American made 8 of 11 shots and finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks.
Notes
▪ Rolesville’s players dedicated the win to Warren, the Rams’ coach, whose son, NaJae’ Amir Warren, took his life two years ago.
Warren has a tattoo on her arm in remembrance and fought back tears as her players talked about her strength in coaching the team during trying personal times.
“It means a lot to me,” said Jones, the game MVP. “I understand that she’s been through so much. Each day she comes to practice, even with everything she has going on. That shows me that she’s a great leader. The least we can do is get her to a state championship (game) and get this for her.”
▪ Last season, Rolesville set a school record for girls’ basketball wins (25) and reached the regional round of the playoffs for the first time. Saturday, the Rams set a school record with their 28th win of the season and that first state title.
▪ For Catholic, Gough finished with 15 points, six rebounds and Olivia Fava had seven points, 12 assists and three steals. Catholic had 15 total assists.
They said it
“We all played until the very end. I don’t think there was ever a point where one of us looked at each other and were like, ‘We have to give more effort,’ because we all wanted to win. ... It sucks we came up short but I think we gave it our all and I’m really proud of how we did today even though it wasn’t what we were hoping for.” — Catholic senior forward Gracynn Gough
Summary
Rolesville 12 13 12 28 — 65
Catholic 15 12 17 14 — 58
ROLESVILLE 65 — Rowe 8, Caitlyn Jones 27, Camryn Lee 12, Lewis 5, Bush 7, Everette 6
CATHOLIC 58 — McArdle 9, Fava 7, Mckain 8, Blanca Thomas 16, Gracynn Gough 15, Kernodle 3
