Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s girls’ basketball team is in the midst of a grueling 12-day, eight-game stretch brought about by the recent snow days, but Friday’s 68-48 victory over host Cape Henry Collegiate School has them undefeated halfway through.

“We came out a little bit tight because we hadn’t beaten Cape Henry in quite a while, so the nerves were kind of high, but once we got rolling, we kind of worked through that,” NSA head coach Kim Aston said.

The Lady Saints defense was key, holding senior point guard Bianca Roach, the conference’s leading scorer, to 12 points below her average of nearly 31 per game. Only three Lady Dolphins players scored in the game.

Senior guard/forward Jessica Pieroni led NSA with 26 points to go with five rebounds, while sophomore point guard Harper Birdsong had 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Senior guard/forward Kaylor Nash contributed 11 rebounds and five steals and senior guard Macy Mears had six points and five assists.

Early Saturday afternoon, Aston gave her evaluation on how the team is holding up under the physical strain during this busy stint: “I think pretty good. Kaylor got beat up a little bit last night (against Cape Henry), so I’m waiting to see how she feels today.”

On Thursday, the Lady Saints visited and overwhelmed Norfolk Collegiate School, 47-28.

Pieroni led her team with 13 points, adding eight boards, four assists and two steals. Birdsong registered 12 points, six assists, five boards, three steals and two blocks.

On Tuesday, NSA played at Norfolk Academy and won 56-39. Mears had 16 points, as did Pieroni, who also grabbed nine rebounds. Birdsong had another well-rounded game with 12 points, seven assists, five rebounds and three blocks.

“I don’t think we played well against Collegiate or Academy, but I guess you can’t be but so disappointed with a 20-point win,” Aston said.

Nansemond-Suffolk (13-2, 4-0) continued its busy week with a home game on Saturday against Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School.