RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK — When the season began Brandon Holloway had no idea what was in store for his Canton Pisgah girls basketball team.
After fighting through some tough times it has ended with a shot at Kinston for the state 2A championship.
The Bears (26-6) have had a season full of ups and downs, but it has ended on a high note as they find themselves playing for a state title for the first time since they won the 3A championship in 1989 in their only other trip this deep into the season.
Pisgah, from a tiny mountain town in Haywood County just off of Interstate 40 13 miles west of Asheville, returned only three players from a team that went 23-4 last season and reached the third round of the state playoffs.
Those growing pains led to a 6-5 start. Then there were transfers out of the program and a player or two who decided to quit, but the Bears as a whole did not.
Since then, they have won 20 of their last 21 games on their way to the Western N.C. 2A/3A Conference regular season and tournament titles and to Saturday’s 2A championship against Kinston at noon at the Dean E. Smith Center in Chapel Hill.
“We’ve had a lot of unexpecteds since the end of last season. We’ve had transfers, we’ve had some who chose not to play, we’ve had others who opted out in the middle of the season,” Holloway said during Monday’s state championship press conference. “We preach this to our girls and we talk about it — everything happens for a reason.
“God is in control of this, and they have kept focus, they’ve kept working and persevering through some of the early-season aches and pains and distractions, and I think that’s only strengthened their character to make them be the caliber team they are now.”
The Bears are led by the only three who are left from last season’s team — juniors Sheridan Pressley and Mariah Lewis and senior guard Taylor Galyean.
Pressley, a guard who was named the conference player of the year, averages 15.8 points and 4.3 assists per game according to notes supplied to the media Monday by the NCHSAA, while Galyean scores eight points and has 4.1 rebounds per game. Lewis, a forward, leads the team in rebounding at 7.7 boards per game.
“To see them lead this group of young people has been a testament to their leadership abilities and their work ethic,” Holloway said.
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.
Meet Kinston’s opponent
School: Pisgah High School
Mascot: Bears
Location: Canton
Conference: Western N.C. 2A/3A
Head coach: Brandon Holloway
Record: 26-6
Last finals appearance: 1989
Players to watch: Brooklyn Allen, Sheridan Pressley, Taylor Galyean, Mariah Lewis
Of note: The Bears defeated Thomasville, 63-57, in the Western Regional final to advance. They have won 20 of their last 21 games after starting the season 6-5. They won the Western N.C. 2A/3A Conference regular season and tournament championships.