ND ladies silence DeSoto, Ark.

By Will Dickins
North Delta faced the DeSoto High School Thunderbirds on the basketball court Monday night winning all four games: Jr. High Girls, 40-10; Jr. High Boys, 28-17; Sr. High Girls, 57-32; and Sr. High Boys, 50-25.
ND Girls 57, DeSoto 32
The Lady Green Wave pulled away in the second half after what looked to be a close game to the finish.  After a close first half, North Delta used a big third quarter to come away with their second win on the young season.  The talented trio of Ally Alford, Faith Bollinger, and Hannah Bollinger came to play and carried the team’s offense as well as make plays on defense for most of the night.
To start the game, the Green Wave struggled to find rhythm missing out on four of their first five possessions.  This led to only seven first quarter points and a lead for the Thunderbirds at 10-7.  North Delta found their stride in the second, though. A 10-2 run was started by Faith Bollinger hitting two mid-range jump shots, which was followed by her sister (Hannah Bollinger) hitting two more jump shots.  To cap it off, Alford had a steal and layup to complete the swing in momentum.
This run sparked the Lady Green Wave into gaining control of the game.  Blakely Denman then hit a shot smiling ear to ear as they capped off a dominating second quarter.
Basketball was fun again as North Delta made their way to the locker room with a 25-20 lead at halftime.
North Delta did not look back from there and switched to a 1-3-1 zone for most of the third quarter adding bunches of steals to the final stat line.  The Green Wave eventually earned 21 steals on the night.
Alford and Faith Bollinger converted turnovers into points in what seemed to be layup after layup turning the game in to a one-sided affair.  Before long, after a fast paced third quarter, the score was 47-28 North Delta.  With the final quarter starting, the game slowed down.  North Delta cruised their way into a 25-point victory.
A team full of competitors showed heart in bouncing back from an early deficit to eventually dominate.
Alford led the team with 24 points, five rebounds, and eight steals.  Faith Bollinger had 14 points, three rebounds, and three steals.  Hannah Bollinger ended the night with eight points, three steals, and led the team in assists.  Other contributors were: Maci Kirkland, seven rebounds and six steals; Denman, five points, six rebounds, and one block; Ema Cay Donaldson four points, three rebounds, and one steal; and Payton Scott, two points and one block.

ND JH Girls 40, DeSoto 10
North Delta destroyed the competition in the first game winning by 30 points.
The Lady Green Wave used a 16-2 advantage against the Thunderbirds in the first quarter.  After the first period ended, they struggled to score efficiently.
For most of the second and third quarters North Delta found little room to score, but continued to play a full court trap to contain DeSoto.
Sydney Talley had two points in the second quarter.  Griffin Rico had a basket, and Beckham McCord added a made free throw in the third.
After surviving the third quarter, the score was stuck at 21-10 with DeSoto seeming to hang around.
That was before North Delta blanked the Thunderbirds in the final quarter while putting up 19 points to pull away for good.
Leading the Green Wave in scoring was Ally Alford with 14 followed up by Faith Bollinger with nine.  Other scorers included: Hannah Bollinger (5), Blakely Denman (1), Ema Cay Donaldson (2), Griffin Rico (2), Beckham McCord (1), Libby Miller (2), Sydney Talley (2), and Caroline Williamson (2).