It's a photo finish for Tigers|Paschal scores 44 to lead Williamston to sectional title

Published 1:39 am Saturday, February 27, 2010

By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
WILLIAMSTON — They stood at center court taking pictures and beaming smiles that would put the Kool-Aid guy to shame, and after putting together four strong quarters of basketball that not only allowed them to capture a sectional championship, but a piece of history, they had every right to live up the moment.
Riding the back of what might be the best performance of Katie Paschal’s career so far, the Williamston Tigers stormed past the Stallions for a 74-60 victory in the NCHSAA 1-A sectional championship game, winning the final home hoops game in Williamston High School history and improving to a perfect 27-0 on the season.
Next year Williamston will merge with Bear Grass High School to form the Riverside Knights, but on Friday they made sure the final game ever played in the Tiger Den was a victory.
“It’s big, it’s big to all our kids because they know next year we will be in the same gym, but we won’t be the same team,” Williamston coach Hughes Barber said. “To get a win in the last home game for the Williamston Tigers is a big one, that’s pretty meaningful.”
The Tigers’ big win came by way of a big performance from Paschal, the future East Carolina Pirate played aggressive on both ends of the court and at times was downright impossible to guard as she knifed through the Stallions’ defense for 44 points.
With that performance, Paschal has now accumulated 3,075 career points, placing her third on North Carolina’s all-time scoring list, and just six points shy of taking the second place spot occupied by Cetera DeGraffenreid of Smoky Mountain High School.
Paschal came five points short of her career high, which she achieved this season versus North Pitt. However, add in the magnitude of the game, along with her 11 steals, six rebounds and six assists, and it adds up to an all-time performance by the greatest girl basketball player in Williamston history.
After the game Paschal, a senior, said she was thrilled to close out the home schedule with a win.
“I have to say it’s the biggest win of my career. I know it’s the last game for me and everybody else because of the consolidation next year, so it feels great,” Paschal said. “We had a lot of fans come out tonight and it really helped us.”
Southwest Onslow (16-5), the top seed from the Coastal Plains Conference, was determined to do its best to rain on the Tigers’ parade behind a 26-point effort by Janika Williams.
Williams and the Stallions traded leads for the better part of the first half, but a brilliant second-quarter performance by Paschal kept them at bay.
Southwest Onslow took a 25-23 lead when Shanee Shaw converted a layup with less than three minutes remaining in the first half.
Paschal, and a gritty defensive effort by Williamston, helped Williamston recapture the lead before the break. Paschal sliced her way through two Stallions defenders and managed to flip the ball through the nylon to earn the hoop and a foul. After hitting the free throw, the Tigers took a 29-25 lead.
Tigers’ guard Zakkeya Morris gave her club a 35-29 halftime lead after she stripped the ball from the Stallions and raced down court for a layup with three seconds left on the clock.
Morris finished the game with eight points and five assists, while Tigers’ center Cassie Harrell hit several big shots and tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and five blocks.
After the break, the Tigers pulled away from Southwest Onslow with an impressive third quarter. Paschal came out and drilled a three-pointer, then forced a steal and turned it into a fastbreak layup to take a 40-29 lead and force the Stallions to call a timeout.
Williamston never let up, and out-scored Southwest Onslow 21-13 to put the game out of reach and advance to the fourth round of the playoffs.
Barber said getting a good team performance helped his team close out the Stallions.
“The biggest difference in the game was the 44 points from Katie Paschal, she can put us on her back sometimes,” Barber said. “But we had Cassie Harrell step up tonight with 12 points and five blocks, and Zakkeya had eight points and five assists. We had a lot of good contributors.”
Southwest Onslow 12 17 13 18 — 60
Williamston 15 20 21 18 — 74
Stallions (60)
Jasmine Jordan 17, Shaw 4, Jasmine Williams 13, Janika Williams 26.
Tigers (74)
Katie Paschal 44, Cassie Harrell 12, Moore 3, Jones 2, Morris 8, Norfleet 2, Wynn 3.