NEW GLASGOW – Over the weekend the NNEC jv girls basketball team defeated the Amherst Regional High School Vikettes 34-24 to claim the Northumberland Regional JV Basketball Championship title.
In the one previous meeting between the schools, Amherst easily won by 25 points.
The first half of the championship game was a defensive battle as neither team could open a lead, going into halftime tied 16-16. With the score tied at half, new expectations for the Gryphons emerged as they felt confident in competing with the regions best. NNEC completely shut Amherst down in the third quarter. They did not allow a point to be scored, while at the same time managing to go up by 11 points heading into the final quarter. As time ticked off in the final quarter, Amherst made one final push, but the Gryphons held on for the victory, capturing the first regional basketball championship in NNEC history.
Opening the weekend the Gryphons were ranked third going into the semifinals against the CEC JV team in second place to open the championship on Friday.
During their season CEC took three of four contests from the Gryphons, winning by an average margin of 10 points but regardless, the girls battled and kept the Cougars sharp shooting at bay, winning 54-45, which advanced NNEC to the championship game on Saturday.
NNEC will now travel to Horton High School this coming weekend to participate in provincials. On Friday, they play the provincially no. 1 ranked Citadel High School.
