Johnson’s free throw helps Northside girls hold off Southside

Published 9:16 am Friday, January 17, 2025

By Jason O. Boyd

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YEATESVILLE, N.C. — It’s not always by how much you win against an opponent but the way you do it. Northside will certainly remember its dramatic finish against Southside in the latest rivalry and Coastal Plains Conference game between the two schools.

Piper Johnson made the first of two free throws with eight seconds left, and the Panthers were able to run out the clock for a 50-49 win over the Seahawks. The win improved Northside’s record to 12-1 overall, 1-0 in the CPC and also capped an intense and emotion-filled contest.

“It was a lot of pressure,” Johnson said. “I just had to quiet my mind and pretend like it was just practice.”

Johnson was called for a lane violation on the second free throw. OJ Cahoon was fouled after getting the ball from Southside, and Northside ran out the clock to preserve the win.

“It was very aggressive down low,” Johnson said. “I think it’s because we’re all fighting to be number one in the conference. It was big for our first conference game of the season.

“We all wanted it. We were all fighting hard for it.”

Southside (9-4, 0-1) held tough with Northside throughout. It helped the Seahawks that Cahoon was battling foul trouble and spent a lot of time in the second half on the bench. Each time Northside tried to pull away, the Seahawks would reel them right back in.

“Well, it obviously affects me because I wanna be on the court,” Cahoon said. “I love basketball. But also, I have confidence in them because we do play all the time, whether I’m on the court or not, and they know what needs to be done.

“I just still play, and if I don’t need to get a foul, if they call it, they call it, and then it’s part of the game.”

Cahoon returned to the floor with 3:23 left, but Southside stayed tough and took a 49-47 lead on a 3-pointer by I’kiryah Minor with 1:23 left. The Seahawks missed a couple of shots and turned the ball over three times after to give Northside a chance.

Tatianna Moore made a layup off a pass from Madison Scheffler to tie the game at 49-49 with 31 seconds left before Johnson’s free throw won it.

“Tatia has a big basket, they both did, and that’s what we gotta do,” Leathers said. “I already told them, I told them they’re going to box-and-one, I already knew that. But we’re more than OJ, I’ll tell you that.

“She’s such a team player. We just couldn’t find our rhythm. We’ll get our rhythm back, we’ll be ready.”

Southside coach Milton Ruffin praised his team’s effort and was optimistic about their performance when they meet again on Jan. 31.

“We had some crucial turnovers and then also we missed some easy shots on the basket that we should have capitalized on,” Ruffin said. “But we didn’t capitalize on it. It’s a good learning experience. And like I told the girls, there’s no moral victory.”

Cahoon finished with 17 points while Moore added 12 for Northside. Minor led all scorers with 23 points for Southside, connecting on four 3-pointers.

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