A game between sports rivalries produces an atmosphere like no other. Rivalry games have a pressure built up that is felt by the coaches, players and by fans. When we think of rivalries, we think of the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, Auburn and Alabama, Duke versus University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, each arguably the best rivalries in sports. In Raleigh, North Carolina, there’s a rivalry like no other: two women’s basketball teams, just separated by 3 miles. The William Peace University Pacers versus the Meredith College Avenging Angles dueled it out once again, in another thrilling game Thursday night.
The crosstown rivalry game was originally scheduled to be played on Wednesday night but due to inclement weather the game was postponed one day. The Pacers, 9-16 overall and 6-13 in USA South conference play played with a lot of heart in Thursday night’s game being down only 26-25, at the half versus the Meredith Angels, 11-14 overall and 10-9 in the USA South. In a senior night showdown, the Pacer’s forced the Angels to turn the ball over 19 times and big time play from their sophomore point guard, Brittany Boykin, who dropped 24 points and went 10-12 from the free throw line and senior Derrica Jones, who had 6 points, but 11 strong rebounds to help the Pacers get down court for some fast buckets.
The Pacers played an intense game throughout, being down 10 points, after a 8-0 run form the Angles, Ka’la Jordan banked in a 2 point jumper, then another triple was drained by Krystal Williams off the assist from Zhana Gooden, then after another turnover by the Angels the Pacer went down court where DeJah Cheatem buried a huge three pointer to cut the lead to only two.
Being down 7 points to the Angels, the Pacers would fight on from there showing their heart all the way down the stretch, Cheatham hit her third shot from beyond the arc to put WPU back in front, and then Gooden knocked dialed one up from long-distance for a five point (57-52) Pacers lead, their biggest of the game. WPU went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line down the stretch to put the game away (gopeacepacers.net). The Pacers ended up winning the game, 67-63.
Team captain and senior, Derrica Jones was thrilled that the Pacers came away with the win. “The rivalry against Meredith was tough and they played well, but we were the fresher team at the end” Jones said. “Even when things weren’t going our way we gave a little more effort, we were a little more patient, and battled a little harder and that’s how we came out on top,” Jones also added. When asked about how she felt about playing her final rivalry game versus the Avenging Angels she said, “It was a bitter sweet moment. Knowing that I will never get to physically play them again feels so unreal. The experience of playing them over the years has been great and I will definitely have memorable moments from it.”
