The Chapel Hill High School women’s basketball team put its strong team chemistry to work as the Tigers improved upon their record from last year and advanced to the second round of the state playoffs.
The team finished with a 17-10 record, notching six more victories than it did last year.
The Tigers won their first playoff game against Southern Wayne High School, 48-47 on February 25, taking the lead in the second quarter after being down three points in the first quarter. Sophomore Riley Corcoran led the team with 11 points, while Laney Beale dished out seven assists.
The team had a 42-37 led in the fourth quarter of its playoff game in the second round, but fell by one point to E.E. Smith 48-49, on February 27. Senior Avery Look was named the player of the game, and Corcoran scored 13 points.
Three of the starters on the team–sophomore Laney Baele, Corcoran and junior Morgan Korfas–earned all-conference honors this season.
“The team played much better than last year,” Korfas said. “I think we were able to start working better as a team.”
Coach John French has been coaching basketball for over 20 years and has helmed the women’s basketball team for nine years.
He believes the team has highly skilled players who are unselfish and care about each other, which gives the team balance.
“I think that the girls improved every day and got to know their strengths and weaknesses,” he said. “I think we could have won a couple of games early on, but we responded to the losses and put ourselves in a position to be successful at the end of the season.”
Look said she is proud of how the team played this season and how well the team did in the playoffs.
“I love all of the players on the team,” Look said. “It is a really fun environment to be a part of.”
French said he is excited to continue watching the girls grow and develop their skills next season.
“I use a lot of life lessons with our girls, and I want them to use basketball as a tool to get wherever they could dream of going in life,” he said. “I like seeing the girls meet their personal goals for school and athletics because, at the end of the day, it’s their team and not the coaches!”
