‘Handle hard’: Northside girls win CPC Tournament title with dramatic comeback

Published 4:12 am Sunday, February 23, 2025

By Jason O. Boyd

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YEATESVILLE, N.C. — It’s more than a motto that is printed on the backs of the T-shirts that every Northside girls’ basketball player wears.

“Handle Hard” is a philosophy, a statement of the way the Panthers have weaved in and out of every game this season. In many ways, it has defined contests where Northside pulled out a victory and is a perfect way to describe how they captured the Coastal Plains Conference Tournament title on Saturday.

Behind a furious rally in the final 1:14, the Panthers won their 15th straight game in a tension-filled 64-60 victory over Pamlico County, their toughest rival in the league. Northside improved to 24-1 going into Tuesday’s first round of the state playoffs at home against Rosewood.

Pamlico County falls to 21-5 with three of their losses at the hands of Northside.

“We just didn’t give up,” said senior Madison Scheffler, who scored six of her 12 points in the final quarter. “Like (teammate) O.J. (Cahoon), she told us at like two minutes, she was like, ‘We’re not losing this.

“And so I think just the fact that we kept pushing through and just did the little things, I think that’s what helped us win.”

Northside’s O.J. Cahoon struggles to get a shot off as four Pamlico County defenders surround her. (Jason O. Boyd | Washington Daily News)

If you could classify Saturday’s game tongue-in-cheek, you’d say it was a prize boxing match. Both teams duked it out back and forth throughout the game. However, with 2:32 left — after a steal and running layup by Sydney Whitley-Reese, Northside looked like it might have been against the ropes, trailing 58-51 with players like Cahoon, Sophie Berry and Keniyah Whitley each with four fouls.

Northside coach Michelle Leathers called a timeout and the Hurricanes celebrated Whitley-Reese’s 1,000th career point with that basket. Pamlico County coach April Rose ran to the scorer’s table and passed along the milestone news. She then rolled out a poster of the talented sophomore to show off as the squad celebrated.

Cahoon and senior teammate Madison Scheffler said that moment didn’t rattle them. Instead, they stuck to what Leathers told them and pumped themselves up for one of the biggest comebacks they’ve had all season. When Whitley-Reese picked up her fifth foul with 2:02 left and the Hurricanes leading 58-53, there was a sense in the air that it would be the spark the Panthers needed.

Turns out it was.

Northside vs. Pamlico County in Coastal Plains Conference Tournament title game (Jason O. Boyd | Washington Daily News)

Moments later, Scheffler scored to cut the deficit to 58-55. A foul called against Pamlico’s Kyliyah Barber after she missed a shot resulted in Rose getting a technical foul for arguing the call. Both teams exchanged free throws before Cahoon was fouled with 1:01 left while driving to the basket.

She hit both free throws — she made all seven of hers in the fourth quarter — to tie the game at 60. Pamlico then made three turnovers and missed a shot on its last four possessions, giving the Panthers the chance to win it.

“Well, it’s just the whole part about the mentality and going up there and knowing that you can do it, and you can do them every day,” Cahoon said of hitting the free throws. “So it’s kind of just a nice rhythm for me. And so I was having a really good day, I made all those free throws.”

Tatianna Moore made the second of two free throws with 38 seconds left to give Northside the lead for good at 61-60. Berry did the same with 22 seconds left — her free throw rolling several times before dropping into the basket.

On the next possession, Scheffler stepped in front of a Pamlico pass for the steal and then drove to the basket for a layup with five seconds left. That gave Northside the final margin of victory and set off a wild celebration on the court and in the stands.

“That was some big plays, they had some big plays,” Leathers said. “OJ coming in, knocking down free throws. It was just big … big plays by two players (Cahoon and Scheffler) that’s been with me for four years.

“And with fouls too, I mean, because OJ had four fouls, Sophie had fouls. We don’t control that, we just try to get to the line and knock them down to the best of our ability. I just told them to stay calm, you gotta learn to play through things.

“So that’s why we got ”Handle Hard” on the back of our shirt. We gotta learn to play through things. We don’t have it on the back of our shirts for nothing.”

Members of the Coastal Plains Conference All-Tournament team are, from left to right: Northside’s Madison Scheffler, Sophie Berry and O.J. Cahoon along with Pamlico County’s Nya Clark and Sydney Whitley Reese. Not pictured: Southside’s Ikiriyah Minor and Tamaya Smith. (Jason O. Boyd | Washington Daily News)

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