APA has historic win over John Paul II in girls' basketball
Arendell Parrott’s Caroline Ouano sets up the offense during Tuesday’s win over John Paul II. Photo by William “Bud” Hardy / Neuse News
A young roster looking to build on last year’s success made history in its season opener.
Arendell Parrott had no trouble with John Paul II, winning 67-14 Tuesday at home. The Patriots (1-0) had their biggest margin of victory since reinstating the basketball program in 2014 and hadn’t beaten an opponent by 50 or more since a 63-12 win over Spring Creek on Dec. 7, 2011.
Ironically, Virginia Edmondson — who played for the Gators last season as a freshman — led the way for APA with 18 points as every player on the roster scored.
“I was just playing to help out the team,” Edmondson said. “I was a little nervous and missed a couple of layups early, but we played great.”
Parrott missed its first six shots, but nailed four of five in the midst of a 14-0 run to start the game. Although the Patriots struggled a bit offensively, the Saints (0-2) fell victim to suffocating defense. John Paul II shot 9 percent from the field in the first half and had 21 turnovers as the Patriots raced out to a 33-5 halftime lead.
APA has only one senior on its roster — Karmen Heath — who scored the team’s first points on a pair of free throws. Heath said she didn’t see this coming, but feels like the team has a lot of positive components, similar to last year’s squad who went 15-8 and set a school record for wins.
“We’ve really got a lot of skilled players and have really come together quickly,” Heath said.
The second half was more of the same as the Patriots were able to get a running clock going with 1:21 in the third up 49-9 on a basket from Caroline Ouano. As one of two eighth-graders on a roster with three freshmen, four sophomores and two juniors, Ouano said the youth will do its part to bring in plenty of energy and positive vibes.
“We’ll do our best to keep hyping everyone up,” Ouano said.
Overall, APA coach Kelly Johnson said he was pleased with the team’s efforts.
“They worked hard over the summer and we’ve got a lot of good things to take from this,” Johnson said. “There are a couple of things we need to work on and with a young team there will be some good days and bad ones. Still, on a night like this it’s great to see everything come together and that they’re able to get the win.”
ARENDELL PARROTT 67, JOHN PAUL II 14
JPII 3 2 6 3 — 14
APA 19 14 17 17 — 67
JOHN PAUL II — Flowers 6, Smith 5, Proctor 2, Geiger 1.
APA — Virginia Edmondson 18, Ouano 7, Jones 7, Hood 6, Langston 5, Grubb 5, Okonkwo 5, Heath 4, Sydes 4, Melk 2, Blair 2, Howard 2
Fouled out: None.
Technical fouls: None.
Three-pointers: APA — Edmondson, Ouano.
