WAKE FOREST — Heritage’s girls basketball team converted seven out of 23 3-point shot attempts on its way to a 56-45 win over Fuquay-Varina at home Monday, Jan. 11.

Heritage head coach Pat Kennedy said it was the variety of players making long-distance shots that impressed him the most in the victory.

“It was nice to see different players coming through with the 3-point shot tonight,” Kennedy said. “It definitely was the difference in the outcome.”

Making most of those 3-pointers was Jada Douthit. The junior shooting guard made four 3-pointers and was tied for first on the team in scoring with 15 points.

“I thought Jada Douthit gave us a lift with her shooting,” Kennedy said. “She was hitting 3-pointers all night.”

Due to the new COVID-19 health and safety regulations, the basketball game did not start with a tip-off. Fuquay passed the ball in-bounds from center court at the beginning of the contest.

The Lady Huskies jumped out to a 5-0 run and extended that to a 14-4 advantage in the first quarter. Heritage went into the second period up 16-8. Douthit hit two of her four 3-pointers in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Heritage maintained a consistent lead to go into halftime up 27-17.

In the third quarter, Fuquay started to make more shots, but the Huskies were still ahead 36-28 going into the final period.

In the fourth quarter, both teams performed well offensively. However, Heritage held strong on defense to finish the night with a 56-45 win.

“We played hard most of the game,” Kennedy said. “We need to improve our defensive rebounding to finish off possessions. We also need to do a better job of defending the other team’s best player.”

Heritage forward Chloe Williams tied Douthit with 15 points in the victory. Caroline Ishman contributed with 9 points and Simone Mahoney added 7 points.

With the win, Heritage improved to 2-0 for the season. The Huskies won their season opener at Cardinal Gibbons 57-54.

Heritage will have a tough NAC 6 conference opener at Wakefield on Wednesday, Jan. 20. The Wolverines are coming off two straight undefeated conference championships.

“We need to work on rebounding and being more connected on the offensive end,” Kennedy said. “We also need to do a better job of attacking the basket.”