High School

A North Carolina girls basketball game got completely out of hand — see how Terry Sanford handled it

The Lady Bulldogs opened with a historic first quarter and powered past Gray’s Creek in a performance that set program records and left fans talking.

Levi Payton

Junior guard Jaidah Blake had a big game for Terry Sanford on Tuesday night.
Junior guard Jaidah Blake had a big game for Terry Sanford on Tuesday night. / Israel Anta

You’ve heard the saying “a win’s a win,” but some wins demand a second look.

Tuesday night in Fayetteville, Terry Sanford made history. The Lady Bulldogs scored a staggering 46 points in the first quarter alone and rolled to a 104-26 win over Gray’s Creek (Hope Mills) in a North Carolina high school girls basketball game that reset program standards almost immediately.

The 104 points smashed the program record for Terry Sanford, which improved to 11-6 this season and did so in emphatic fashion. It is unclear where the Lady Bulldogs’ 46-point quarter stacks up all-time in state history, as the NCHSAA does not list most points in a quarter in the girls’ record book (the boys’ record is 50), but it is almost certainly a program record.

The loss dropped Gray’s Creek to 8-10.

Unstoppable on the offensive end and impenetrable defensively, the Lady Bulldogs led 46-3 at the end of the first quarter, maintained a 70-12 lead at the half and swelled their advantage to 91-20 at the end of the third.

46-point first quarter sets the tone for a record-setting night

While six players scored points for Gray’s Creek, six players scored in double figures for Terry Sanford. Six-foot junior forward Amya Harrington led the way for the Lady Bulldogs, scoring 21 points with eight rebounds and three steals in the win. Jaidiah Blake, a 5-foot-9 junior guard, followed with 20 points, six rebounds, six assists and eight steals.

Guard Ameya Brown, one of only two seniors in the Terry Sanford lineup, scored 16 points with eight assists and eight steals, while junior forward Alani-Skye Wilkerson had 14 points, six boards, three assists and four steals. Junior guard Zaniya Reddick had 12 points and six assists, and sophomore guard Karisma Carswell finished with 10 points and four steals.

Also contributing to the triple-digit barrage was senior Neiylah Marcelin with five points, sophomore Vivian Artis-Kilian with four and freshman Cierra Faircloth with two.

The floor-slapping performance saw the Lady Bulldogs rip off 35 steals, dish out 35 assists and shoot 60% from the floor (45-of-75) with an adjusted field goal percentage of 65%.

Balanced scoring and relentless pressure define Terry Sanford’s dominance

Harrington was a big factor, knocking down 10-of-13 shots, while Blake made 9-of-12 shots, Brown 6-of-8 and Reddick 5-of-6. Terry Sanford knocked down 8-of-16 three-point attempts, including two apiece from Carswell, Blake, Reddick and Brown.

On the flipside, the Lady Bears never solved Terry Sanford’s defense. Gray’s Creek shot just 30% from the field (10-of-33) and was led by senior Layla Fox with six points.

Terry Sanford senior guard Ameya Brown shooting a three-point shot
One of only two seniors on the team, Terry Sanford's Ameya Brown scored 16 points with eight assists and eight steals in the lopsided affair. / Israel Anta

Terry Sanford has been one of the hotter teams in the area lately. After a disappointing 1-3 start, the Lady Bulldogs thumped Cape Fear 89-22 to spark a three-game win streak that preceded a 56-14 domination of Westover and a 64-35 win against Seventy-First (Fayetteville).

After scoring 80 or more points in a game twice last season, the Lady Bulldogs have accomplished the feat three times so far in 2025-2026, including back-to-back games after beating Cape Fear 85-23 in a rematch on Jan. 23. Terry Sanford also has blowout wins this season against Scotland 74-16, Lumberton 72-39, T.W. Andrew 63-35, Greensboro Day School 75-52 and South Central (Winterville, South Carolina) 64-43.

Winners of four straight and six of their last seven games, the Lady Wildcats, who have outscored opponents 1,112 to 763 this season, are back in action at 6 p.m. Eastern Friday at Purnell Swett (11-6) in Pembroke.

The Lady Bulldogs went 27-4 last season, advancing to the semifinals of the NCHSAA 3A playoffs.

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Levi Payton
LEVI PAYTON

Levi’s sports journalism career began in 2005. A Missouri native, he’s won multiple Press Association awards for feature writing and has served as a writer and editor covering high school sports as well as working beats in professional baseball, NCAA football, basketball, baseball and soccer. If you have a good story, he’d love to tell it.

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