Bullock scores 40, North Point girls reach region final
Bullock ties school’s single-game scoring record as NP girls oust Braves in 4A East section final
North Point’s Aliyah Bullock doesn’t say much on the basketball court. She just let’s her game do the talking.
In Wednesday night’s Class 4A East Region Section II final, the senior guard was the piv- otal anchor on both ends of the floor, tying North Point’s single-game scor- ing mark with 40 points in the top-seeded Eagles’ 75-57 victory over the second-seeded Chopti- con Braves.
“I didn’t want this to be my last game,” Bullock said. “When Chopticon started to go man-to-man things start to open up and every time the ball left my hand it felt like the basket was going to be good. We have differ- ent players that can step up at any given night. Tonight I wanted to give my team a spark and I was able to do that.”
North Point (22-3 over- all) advances back to the 4A East Region cham- pionship game where it will host Anne Arundel County’s Severna Park, scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday. Severna Park knocked off Old Mill, also of Anne Arundel, 4440 in the Section I cham- pionship on Wednesday.
“We put high expecta- tions on these kids and our goal is to win a state championship,” North Point head coach Mike Serpone said. “It feels good to get back to the region final. The girls have worked hard to get to this point.”
Bullock’s scoring milestone was the most for any girls player in North Point history. She tied senior Jalen Gibbs on the boys team for the school’s single-game scoring record. Gibbs scored 40 points on Jan. 13 in an 8785 win over Great Mills.
“Aliyah was feeling it and attacking the rim,” Serpone said. “She got into a great flow and there was no stopping her tonight.”
With Chopticon leading 39-36 at halftime, North Point started the third quarter with a 6-0 run capped by a short jumper off by sophomore guard Latavia Jackson (12 points). The Braves cut the lead to 42-41, but the Eagles pushed the lead to three on a basket by senior guard Necole Hope.
Chopticon tied the game at 44 on a three-pointer by senior guard Kyaira Priest at the 4:22 mark, but Bullock put North Point back on top by two with a layup.
The Braves tied the game at 47 on a threepoint play by junior Holly Click with 3:12 left in the quarter, but the Eagles was spurred by nine straight points by Bullock, including a three-point- er at the buzzer to give North Point the 56-47 lead after three quarters.
“We just wanted to push the ball up the floor. We knew if we did that, we could outrun them. They were getting tired in the second half,” said Bull- ock, who scored 23 points in the second half, knock- ing down 11 of 13 from the foul line. “I’d never thought I score 40 in a game, but I’m just excited to get back to the region final. Our goal is to win a state title.”
Chopticon did not score its next field goal until Madeline Gregory (teamhigh 18 points) knocked down one of her four threes in the game with less than 2 1/2 minutes
remaining in regulation when North Point was up 66-52.
“In the first half we weren’t executing on the defensive end and we weren’t communicating,” Serpone said. “But in the third quarter we only gave up eight points and we went to the old school half court manto-man defense and you couldn’t ask for anything better.”
North Point freshman guard Synia Johnson contributed with 11 points and Hope, the team’s leading scorer this season, added nine while spearheading a stellar defensive effort that held Chopicon to just 18 second-half points.
Senior guards Aryanna Hutcherson and Priest finished with 15 and 10 points, respectively, each fouling out late in the fourth.
“North Point could not miss and [Bullock] had the game of a lifetime,” Chopticon head coach Joe Cook said. “We struggled to stay with her in our 3-2 zone and in man. I loved our effort, but North Point has another gear that is unbelievable.”
The Braves finished with an overall record of 21-4 and its second straight 12-0 season in the Southern Maryland Athletic Conference’s Chesapeake Division.