Raiders, Wildcats seek to halt Greyhounds run at Holiday Classic

There is only one guarantee in the girls bracket of the 2009 R&L Holiday Classic — Statesville and Lake Norman will not play for the championship.

North Iredell made sure of that.

The Greyhounds and Wildcats have met in the title game four years in a row, but it is the Raiders who have the tournament's top seed.

North Iredell has flummoxed teams with its guard play and newfound interior presence. The result so far is a 7-1 record, the No. 1 seed and a somewhat luxurious path to the championship game.

"That top seed is really valuable," Raiders coach Tami Ramsey said. "We're in the opposite bracket of Statesville and Lake Norman, so we have the edge coming in there. We feel like this year is our year to take care of business. It's our time now."

The Raiders have a bye into the second round, where they will play the winner of the No. 4 Forbush- No. 5 South Iredell game.

Victory is never a certainty, but the Raiders are expected to make the finals. Forbush and South Iredell have a similar makeup, and the Raiders beat South Iredell 63-31 earlier this season.

Ramsey was an assistant coach under Kent Blackwelder the last time North made the tournament title game in 2004 when it defeated Lake Norman 46-33.

"We just have to keep doing the little things, have to keep playing to our strengths," Ramsey said. "We push the ball, take care of the ball, apply pressure … all those things. If we do that, we should be OK."

North Iredell grabbing the top seed sets up a potentially explosive semifinal game on the other side of the bracket.

Lake Norman (6-4) barely beat out Statesville (5-4) for the No. 2 seed. The Wildcats also get a first-round bye and will probably play Statesville in the second round.

The Greyhounds (5-4) drew sixth-seeded West Iredell (0-8) in the tournament opener Monday.

"We kind of want to be where we are," Wildcats coach Dave Walla said. "We want to beat (Statesville and North Iredell) to win the tournament, or to not win it. If we win this tournament, I don't want to feel like we slipped by somebody without having to play them."

Perhaps no team enters the tournament as tested as the Wildcats. Lake Norman's four losses have come to teams generally considered to be the best in 3A and 4A — Concord, Forestview, Hopewell and Mallard Creek.

And one of Lake Norman's victories was a 50-44 decision over top-seeded North Iredell, the Raiders' only loss.

Lake Norman has been perhaps the most consistent girls program in the county since 2003, but it has not yet won a tournament title.

The Wildcats have played in six consecutive Classic championships.

"It's time to breakthrough," Walla said. "The kids are very aware we have a chance to be the first team from Lake Norman to win this tournament. We have to finish this thing."

Much like Lake Norman, Statesville knows a thing or two about tough competition. The Greyhounds have taken on 3A power Hickory twice and 4A mainstay East Mecklenburg.

And consider the Classic history. In the 12 previous Classic tournaments, the Greyhounds have won seven titles and played in the championship game nine times.

Statesville's win last year made it four in a row, the first team to ever accomplish that feat. If the Greyhounds are to win an unprecedented fifth consecutive title, they will have to win three games in three days.

"I'd rather play an opening game than have a bye, in all honesty," Statesville coach Todd Jones said. "If we're lucky enough to get past West Iredell to play Lake Norman — there's no way I'd ever look past an opponent — we'll just treat it like any other game, I guess. We bring out the best in each other and they always play hard.

"I think they realize this could be their year. I don't want to count on North or someone else to knock them off, I want to be the one to knock them off. If we do, good. If not, more power to them and I wish them the best in the championship."

South Iredell (2-6) has one of the more intriguing first-round games. The Vikings, who have struggled at the tournament in recent years, have a winnable opening game against No. 4 seed Forbush (3-6).

The Vikings are playing teams much closer this year under new coach Michael Fisher.

And considering South is the tournament host and playing on its home court, the Vikings may have a bit of magic in store.

"We're excited," Fisher said. "Playing a 2A school, like ourselves, in the first round will help us. Being competitive in this tournament and continuing to build on our progress, I think that's the main goal."