Lady Pam Pack falters late in defeat to North Lenoir

WASHINGTON — A dominant first quarter helped Washington hold a lead over North Lenoir for much of yesterday’s matchup but the Pam Pack slipped in the final minutes, allowing the Hawks, the No. 2 team in the conference, to walk out of David Smith Gymnasium with a 54-51 win.

Kiaira Boomer scored all eight of her points in the opening period to help Washington (8-8, 4-4 2A Eastern Carolina Conference) jump out to an 18-9 lead over North Lenoir (11-5, 7-1 2A ECC). But the Hawks responded with a 15-point second quarter to make the score 28-24 in the Pam Pack’s favor at halftime.

After an even third quarter that saw both teams score 12 points, Washington opened the fourth on the front foot, pushing its lead to 45-36 just 50 seconds into the period. Daria Jones scored eight of her game-high 18 points in the quarter, but unfortunately for the Pam Pack, it scored only six points in the final 7:10 of the game. Meanwhile, North Lenoir scored 18 points in that time frame, including a basket with four seconds left to ice the game.

Joining Jones and Boomer on the stat sheet were Reagan Ruther with 10 points, Kizoria Redmond with six points, and Tyanna Hopkins and Briasia Somerville, who both had five.

Washington looks to get back above .500 tomorrow when it hosts Ayden-Grifton at 6 p.m.

 

Seahawks stage late comeback, pull off double OT victory

NEWPORT — Trailing by 10 points with four minutes left in regulation last night, the Southside boys basketball rallied back, hit a pair of free throws with less than a second remaining to force overtime and outlasted Croatan to win, 61-57, in double overtime to snap the Seahawks’ 11-game losing streak.

Jalen Kirkman was the hero on the night for Southside (4-13, 0-7 1A Coastal Plains Conference), scoring a game-high 25 points. That point total includes 14 fourth-quarter points, the free throws with 0:0.6 left that tied the game at 49-49 and sent it to overtime and a made 3-pointer in both overtime periods. The 6-foot-4 senior also snagged 10 rebounds and dished out three assists.

But it wasn’t a solo effort that picked up the victory over Croatan (5-12, 3-6 2A Coastal 8 Conference). Hundley Stallings chipped in with 10 points, including a big 3-pointer in the first overtime period, Ty Smith scored five of his seven points in the fourth-quarter rally, Aeron Wright chipped in with six points, Kevin White had five, and Jamari Nelson and Hunter Tyler each had four points.

Big plays weren’t just made by putting the ball in the basket either. Jamari Nelson drew two charges in the second overtime period and Stallings drew another, causing two Cougar starters to foul out of the game in the decisive period.

Southside returns to conference play tomorrow night when it hosts Pamlico County at 7:30 p.m.

 

Sloppy play downs Lady Seahawks

NEWPORT — A night full of poor shooting and turnovers doomed the Southside girls basketball team, as it fell, 62-23, on the road to Croatan yesterday.

It was a rough outing for Southside (7-8, 2-5 1A CPC), as the Seahawks made only seven of their 38 attempts from the field. Southside’s inability to score was made worse by the fact it only came away with seven steals on the night, as the Seahawks often kick-start their offense by scoring in transition off of turnovers. Making matters worse, Southside had trouble maintaining possession, turning the ball over to Croatan (13-1, 8-0 2A Coastal 8 Conference) 21 times.

Southside opened the game by scoring a single point in the first period, but responded by scoring 11 in the second. The Seahawks trailed 32-12 at halftime and scored 11 points the rest of the way.

Shantel Cannon’s six points led the team, while Jasmine Blango and Laquisha Woolard both chipped in with five, Kejasia Midgette had three and both Sarah Petty and Miasia McCall scored two points.

The Seahawks host conference-leading Pamlico County tomorrow at 6:30 p.m.