By By BRIAN HAINES
Sports Writer
The Pam Pack girls basketball team continued its hot play of late as Washington rolled over West Craven 62-33 on Tuesday to pick up its third win in its last four games.
The Pack (6-10, 6-3) got off to a slow start this season but seem to be coming together at the right time, and on Tuesday, played what coach Allison Jones called the most complete game of the year.
Senior guard Hayley Stowe tallied 13 points, nine of which came during a pivotal run in the third quarter for Washington.
Shonnita McIver provided some much-needed points in the paint and finished tied with Stowe with a team-high 13 points.
Forwards Stanisha Smith (eight points) and Beth Batchelor (four points) each grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, while Rachel Cantrell (four points) led the Pack with five steals.
Washington’s defense played a huge role in Tuesday’s win. Guards Kristen Williams and Rakira Ward did a nice job pressuring the ball along with Stowe and Cantrell.
Williams finished the game with eight points, five rebounds and two steals, while Ward added two points and three steals.
The solid play of the Pack’s backcourt allowed Jones’ team to play at a faster pace.
“We have been trying to force the tempo lately, these girls are more comfortable playing that tempo” Jones said. “They feed off of playing good defense and getting steals. With a young team we are just trying to find some consistency, and I think we are starting to get that.”
Washington jumped all over their Atlantic Conference rival as it reeled off a 14-2 run to start the first quarter. The Eagles (3-14), led by Angela Rogers and Kasheena Lathon who score six points each, clawed back in the second quarter to head into halftime down only 27-17.
The Pack refused to let West Craven back in the game, and when play resumed Washington out-scored West Craven 35-16 in the second half to win comfortably.
Pack boys continue to struggle
A slow start mixed with a cold-shooting fourth quarter kept the Washington boys from being able to top Atlantic Conference rival West Craven on Tuesday as the Pam Pack fell 85-72.
Washington (6-12, 1-8) got down 10-1 early in the first quarter, but rallied back to take a 38-36 halftime lead thanks to some strong play from Chris Albritton, Tarajan Langley, Ridge Hodges and Lindsey Harris.
Albritton paced the Pack with 20 points, while Hodges and Langley scored 13 and Harris added nine.
Hodges and Langley hit back-to-back layups right before the end of the first half to give the team a two-point lead at the break.
The Eagles (9-8, 5-4), struck back behind the play of guard Justin Hardy who scored a game-high 21 points, and Gieogne Cuthbertsion and Demetris Abrams who both netted 18.
After an Avon Tate bucket tied the game at 40 with 6:55 left to play in the third quarter, the Eagles would go on to take the lead and never surrender it.
Washington cut West Craven’s lead to 64-61 after a Hodges three-pointer early in the fourth, but turnovers and missed shots would haunt the Pack.
“I thought our guys played hard,” Washington coach Joe Lawrence said. “But what we have to do is learn how to finish games. … Our guys played hard, but we are just not hitting shots at opportune times. Down the stretch West Craven was missing their free throws, but we couldn’t come down and hit our shots or free throws.”
The Pam Pack will look to bounce back on Friday when it hosts Havelock.
Girls’ game
West Craven 2 15 11 5 — 33
Washington 14 13 18 17 — 62
Eagles (33)
Brown 3, Thompson 5, Lathon 9, Rogers 6, Roundtree 2, Sheppard 4, Squires 1, Weatherly 1.
Pam Pack (62)
Hayley Stowe 13, Roscoe 5, Shonnita McIver 13, Batchelor 4, Stanisha Griffin 8, Hayley Hiatt 4, Cantrell 4, Ward 2, Williams 8.
Boys’ game
West Craven 18 18 26 23 — 85
Washington 17 19 20 14 — 72
Eagles (85)
John Cox 10, Demetris Abrams 18, Justin Hardy 21, Gieogne Cuthbertsion 18, J. Cuthbertsion 6, Anderson 2, Tate 8.
Pam Pack (72)
Chris Albritton 20, Ridge Hodges 13, Conner 6, Tripp 7, Harris 9, O’Neal 3, Taraja Langley 13.