North Point swim teams fly to regular season
Backcourt anchors Eagles girls past Westlake for 7th straight win; Wolverines boys beat North Point
When freshman Synia Johnson arrived at North Point over the summer, there was little doubt that the point guard could be an impact player in the Southern Mary- land Athletic Conference.
Thus far, Johnson has surfaced well in the start- ing role in the backcourt for head coach Michael Serpone and the Eagles girls basketball team.
In turn, North Point has seen positive results. And Wednesday night, that pos- itivity continued as the Ea- gles rolled to a 73-57 victory over the visiting Westlake Wolverines in a SMAC Potomac Division contest.
It was the seventh victory in a row for North Point (12-2, 6-0 SMAC Potomac), which has yet to suffer a loss to its conference counter- parts, division and nondivision. The Eagles are scheduled to host St. Charles at 6:30 p.m. Friday.
“We started off sloppy with Westlake’s press, but we got it together and finished in transition. It was a game of runs,” Serpone said. “We did a good job with our traps on defense and poking the ball out from behind. That is what we do, so it was a good win.”
With a starting lineup that features all guards, North Point was anchored by
Necole Hope, who led all scor- ers with 28 points, scoring 22 in the first half, while Johnson finished with 20.
“We shared the ball well and had each other’s back on defense. It feels great to play a role for the team and step up when they need me,” said Johnson, who made two three-pointers in the game.
On Johnson’s significance, Serpone said: “She’s done a great job. Synia has a feel and understanding of a game that is way above that of a freshman. She’s an unselfish playmaker who understands how this team functions and what her role in that equation is. She’s meshed well with all of her teammates and that’s a tribute to how she plays the game.”
North Point stuck to its high intense, full-court press and fastbreak offense mixed in with ef- fective outside shooting to keep Westlake’s defense honest.
The Wolverines took an early 8-7 lead in the first quarter, but the Eagles responded on a 13-0 run and led 22-12 after one.
Westlake (10-5, 4-2) started the second quarter on a 7-0 run, but North Point extended the lead to 40-28 at halftime. Hope and Johnson combined to score 33 of the team’s 40 firsthalf points.
“This game was very intense. Westlake always plays hard and their our county rivals,” Hope said. “We just brought a lot of ball pressure and we were able to execute on a lot of layups on the other end. I thought we were very physical with them tonight and we were able to pull away with the lead.”
For the rest of the game, Westlake could not bring the Eagles’ deficit below double digits. North Point led 59-36 af- ter three quarters.
Westlake had three players in double figures as Latavia Washington had a team-high 16 points, Jasmine Gholson finished with 15 and Gwendolyn Brown added 12 points.
The Wolverines were able to get to the free-throw line, mak- ing 25 of 38 (66 percent) for the game, while North Point was 10 for 17 (59 percent).
Westlake is scheduled to trav- el to McDonough for a 6:30 p.m. contest Friday.
“North Point played hard from start to finish and got every loose ball and they nev- er gave up,” Wolverines head coach Marvin Binion II said. “We preach that all the time and we have to bring that same intensity. But we are progressing and getting better. We can learn a lot from tonight.”
Westlake boys hold off North Point
With a sold out crowd on hand at Westlake, the Wolver- ines survived in the end with a 75-71 win over the Eagles on Wednesday night.
Coming off a 77-54 home loss to Prince George’s County power Eleanor Roosevelt on Monday, Westlake set the tone in the first half, taking a 18-10 lead after one quarter and went up 31-25 at halftime.
The Wolverines (12-4, 5-1) took a 48-43 lead after three quarters. North Point outscored Westlake 28-26, but it wasn’t enough.
Westlake senior guard Jeff Simmons led all scorers with 26 points, nailing 14 of 20 from the free-throw line. Senior forward Amir Lawrence finished with 14 points, while Wayne Young added 13, including three three-pointers.
North Point (8-8, 3-3) had four players in double figures as guard Jalen Gibbs finished with a team-high 19 points. Malik Lawrence finished with 18 points. Satchel Ball scored 15 points, hitting four threes, and Cameron Chesley added 13.
The Eagles are scheduled to be at St. Charles at 7 p.m. Friday, while Westlake is scheduled to host McDonough at 6:30 p.m. Friday.