West Forsyth girls basketball named No. 4 seed in Bell Davis Pitt Bracket of Garber Holiday Tip-Classic

Published 9:44 am Thursday, November 16, 2023

It’s almost Thanksgiving. That means it’s time for that annual tradition in Forsyth County where the Mary Garber Holiday Tip-Off Classic basketball tournament is played.

On Tuesday afternoon at Maple Chase Golf and Country Club, two brackets of eight teams each were announced for the annual girls basketball tournament that tips off Saturday at Atkins High School and Glenn High School.

One of those teams is West Forsyth, led by Coach Catrina Green. West Forsyth, which finished last season 16-12 overall and 7-7 in the Central Piedmont 4-A, will be playing in the Bell Davis Pitt Bracket, which is the upper bracket.

West Forsyth, the No. 4 seed, will face a familiar foe in the first round Saturday at 4:30 at Atkins – Reagan, which is the No. 5 seed. Both West Forsyth and Reagan compete in the Central Piedmont 4-A.

“The top bracket’s always tough,” Green said. “With it being most peoples’ first games I never know who’s going to be seeded first, second, third, all the way to eighth. I’m happy where we’re at. We matched up with Reagan last year and it was a good first game for us.

West Forsyth defeated Reagan 40-29 last year in the first round. They also played three other times during the season with West Forsyth sweeping the four games.

“We’ve played them a couple times in the postseason and the preseason,” Green said. “We have an idea of what they look for, so I think it’s going to be a good first-round matchup.”

Reagan finished 16-12 overall last season and 8-6 in the conference. However, it is under new Coach Keith Gunter, who replaced Eric Rader after the season.

“I like it,” Green said. “It gives us a glimpse into what they might do during the season. It’s also good, if you get a win, towards the RPI, towards the end of the year. So, I think it sets us great either way, especially with us being in one of the toughest conferences in the state.”

If West Forsyth wins, it will play the winner of the noon game on Saturday at Atkins between No. 8 East Wilkes and No. 1 Reynolds, which would be played at 6:30 p.m. on Monday at Atkins in the semifinals. If West Forsyth loses, it will play the loser of the East Wilkes-Reynolds game, at 5 p.m. on Tuesday at Atkins. The championship is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 22, at Atkins.

“I think it’s a good first couple of games to figure out, hey, what do we need to work on before we tip off again the following weekend,” Green said.

The Titans lost Abby Hunter to graduation.

“Abby Hunter is a big piece we lost last year, just her leadership and toughness on the floor,” Green said. “We picked up a transfer kid out of Wisconsin (Hallie Cramer) that kind of brings that toughness piece for us back. We have a lot of young pieces that are having to step up this year in ways that they haven’t before.”

Also, the Titans will likely be without Jeanna Baskerville. Baskerville, a 6-foot-2 sophomore, hurt her knee in May, and according to Greene, will likely miss the whole season.

“It’s definitely a big loss for us when she went down back in May,” Green said. “The good thing with it is with her going down last summer it allowed us to build toward, building those kids up that didn’t have to step last year.”

Reynolds is the defending champion in the Bell Davis Pitt Bracket and finished 18-10 over last season.

“I’m very happy,” Coach T.J. Eggers of Reynolds said. “It’s nice just to get the respect from you colleagues and what not. It’s nice to be able to be able to wear white the entire tournament, but you’ve still got to go out there and earn it.”

In other games Saturday in the Bell Davis Pitt Bracket, No. 7 Parkland will face No. 2 North Wilkes at 1:30 p.m. at Atkins, and at 3 p.m. at Atkins, No. 6 Mount Tabor will face No. 3 East Surry.

In the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Bracket, Forsyth Country Day, which was a late addition to the tournament after Winston-Salem Prep announced that it wouldn’t have a team this season, is the No. 1 seed.

FCD will face No. 8 Carver at noon on Saturday at Glenn.

“(We were surprised) a little bit, but we were excited,” Coach Ashton Fleming Oglesby of FCD said. “We want to play. We’re always looking for games.”

If FCD wins on Saturday it will play in Monday’s semifinals at 6:30 at Glenn against the winner of the game between No. 5 Atkins versus No. 4 Lexington. If FCD loses, it will play in Monday’s loser’s-bracket game against the loser of the Atkins-Lexington at 5 p.m. on Monday at Atkins.

“I’m just excited to be here,” Fleming Oglesby said. “We want games, and we just want to match up with anybody that wants to match up with us.”

In other first-round games Saturday in the Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Bracket at Glenn, No. 7 Walkertown will face No. 2 East Forsyth at 1:30 p.m., and at 3 p.m., No. 6 North Forsyth will face No. 3 Glenn.

Mary Garber Holiday Tip-Off Classic

Bell Davis Pitt Bracket

Saturday’s first-round games

(At Atkins)

No. 8 East Wilkes vs, No. 1 Reynolds, noon

No. 7 Parkland vs. No. 2 North Wilkes, 1:30

No. 6 Mount Tabor vs. No. 3 East Surry, 3 p.m.

No. 5 Reagan vs. No. 4 West Forsyth, 4:30

Monday’s semifinals

(At Atkins)

No. 5 Reagan-No. 4 West Forsyth winner vs. No. 8 East Wilkes-No. 1 Reynolds winner, 6:30

No. 7 Parkland-No. 2 North Wilkes winner vs. No. 6 Mount Tabor-No. 3 East Surry winner, 8 p.m.

Wednesday’s championship

(At Atkins)

Semifinals winners, 6:30

Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Bracket

Saturday’s first-round games

(At Glenn)

No. 8 Carver vs. No. 1 Forsyth Country Day, noon

No. 7 Walkertown vs. No. 2 East Forsyth, 1:30

No. 6 North Forsyth vs. No. 3 Glenn, 3 p.m.

No. 5 Atkins vs. No. 4 Lexington, 4:30

Monday’s semifinals

(At Glenn)

No. 5 Atkins-No. 4 Lexington winner vs. No. 8 Carver-No. 1 FCD winner, 6:30

No. 6 North Forsyth-No. 3 Glenn winner vs. No. 7 Walkertown-No. 2 East Forsyth winner, 8 p.m.

Wednesday’s championship

(At Atkins)

Semifinals winners, 5 p.m.