Fans filled the bleachers and even more watched from along the wall of the baseline Friday night as Bishop McGuinness hosted round four of the 1A playoffs.

The women’s team skyrocketed after halftime to defeat Mountain Heritage 60-42. The men’s team battled Corvian Community hard before losing 52-50 in the final seconds of the game.

women’s team vs. No. 5 Mountain Heritage High School

The Lady Villains got out to a 15-6 lead in the first quarter, led by senior Adelaide Jernigan who scored 10 points. The momentum shifted in the second quarter as Bishop McGuinness turned the ball over numerous times to end the half. Mountain Heritage capitalized on these turnovers, only down 30-23 heading into the locker room.

“We made a couple of mistakes partly due to foul trouble, partly due to just some indecisiveness,” head coach Brian Robinson told Scope News. “I felt like if we just settled down in the third quarter, controlled our emotions better that we’d be fine and we did. We controlled our emotions and we pulled away from the team.” 

The team’s frustration was replaced with adrenaline as Jernigan put up 17 points in the third quarter. Midway through the quarter, she drove to the basket, put it through the hoop, and got fouled, eliciting a roar from the crowd, the bench, and herself. 

Jernigan finished with 33 points, Claire Sullivan scored 15 points, and Jenna Moore added 10 points of her own. Robinson highlighted his team’s defensive focus, even in the face of foul trouble, that marked the sign of a mature team and deemed this vital to their victory. 

“This time last year we were knocked out in this round. We’re moving on this year to the Final Four,” Robinson said. “I’m really proud of them and I know they’re very happy.” 

The Lady Villains will face No. 2 Cherokee High School in the West Regional Final on Tuesday evening. The game will be played at Wake Forest’s LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem.

men’s team vs. No. 5 Corvian Community High School

The Bishop McGuinness men’s team may have played at home, but Corvian Community brought their raucous crowd on the road for an atmosphere befitting the Elite Eight. 

The Villains started slow, calling a timeout to stop the sheer momentum Corvian built while leading 14-5 in the first quarter. The domination was so one-sided a Corvian fan giddily predicted, “This is about to be an absolute slaughter fest.” 

But the Villains came back from the timeout focused and energized. Alex Waterfield hit a buzzer beater from half court to end the first quarter. 

Senior Jack Ritzel was tasked with locking down Corvian’s star player — a sophomore averaging 23 points a game. Ritzel never gave him more than a foot of space and denied him the ball for much of the game. 

Bishop trailed 27-26 at halftime. The teams battled back and forth in the second half until the real drama began with a minute left in the fourth quarter. 

“We’ve said since the summer our season is going to come down to one or two plays, and that’s what it came down to tonight,” said head coach Josh Thompson. 

Corvian got fouled on a made shot, but missed the free throw. They led 50-48. Bishop called a timeout with 21 seconds to go in the game. Waterfield got the ball and was fouled while shooting. He made both his free throws to tie the game 50-50 with only 12 seconds left. 

Corvian raced down the sideline and pulled up for a mid range shot. Thomas Thompson went for the block, but his body hit the shooter on the way down. Corvian headed to the foul line and made both free throws. With only two seconds remaining, Nicholas Graves heaved a shot from three-quarters court, but it was no good. 

“If you would’ve told me before the game we would hold them to only 52 points I would think we’re going to win the game. Unfortunately, we didn’t do enough on the offensive end,” head coach Josh Thompson told Scope News after the game. “I think their length really bothered us and their athleticism and that limited us from scoring a lot inside the three point line, and ultimately that was the difference in the game.”

Asked to reflect on his team’s season, Thompson said, “We’re proud of them and what they’ve done over the last three years. They hung nine banners in the gym. They went on a 20-game winning streak to end this season. … At the end of the day those guys took us on a great ride this year. We’re proud of them and we love them.”

Check our photos from both games on our Instagram account.

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