Northern Nash's girls basketball team looked squarely into the eyes of their first loss of the season with 3:44 to go. Rocky Mount gave the supreme effort on the year. Couldn't hit the broad side of a barn except for one player Shelby Meeks. Her 7th three of the night gave Rocky Mount a 37-34 lead and then Northern's defense took over. Rocky Mount only got one shot the rest of the game and that took place with four second left. Four straight turnovers and a 25 second spell when Kiana Thomas said follow me. Thomas hit two rebound put backs at 1:47 and 1:27 plus a key rebound at 1:07 and a foul shot to give Northern a 42-37 lead and an undefeated season as they beat the feisty Lady Gryphons 44-37. Northern finishes 21-0 heading to the Big East Tournament in Wilson next week.
Thomas led Northern with 18 points and 13 rebounds. Alexia Hines started out scoring seven points in the first quarter but was saddled with two fouls at the end of the first finished with 12. Rocky Mount out rebounded the taller Knights 32-26 were lead by Meek's 21 points. In the let one get away column Rocky Mount was 9-24 at the foul line while Northern couldn't write home how great they were either only 8-18. Rocky Mount had 26 turnovers for the game but had a shot at victory until the last four. Northern only had ten in the game including none in the fourth quarter.
Rocky Mount drops to 5-5 and after Fike upset Hunt 47-43 are in a tie for third with Rocky Mount but the Gryphons get the third seed in next weeks Big East Tournament having beat Fike in both conference matchups.
The boys matchup found Rocky Mount still twitching about the buzzer beater Northern applied to them three weeks ago and just maybe with a chance to win the top seed and it has been a while since Northern has been in that position they were nervous looking in the beginning and Rocky Mount showed no mercy. Rocky Mount clinches out right third while Northern will settle for the two seed after a Rocky Mount pasting of Northern 89-55. Hunt who had to beat Fike to draw first had little trouble beating Fike 72-49.
Rocky Mount had five turnovers in the first quarter but other wise they could have had a larger than 18-11 first quarter lead. Isaiah Alston went to work in the second quarter scoring 18 first half points just two shy of the Knight half time total. Northern had eight second quarter TO's to go with five in the first and the Gryphons led 38-20 at the half.
Kenaz Cooper took control for Rocky Mount in the second half finishing with 15 points and Northern could do no better than losing the third quarter 22-20. The Gryphons were not finished even when the benches were cleared the Gryphon bench scored 12 points in the last two minutes and put a hurting on Northern.
Isaiah Alston led the Gryphons with 22, Kenaz Cooper 15, Broderick Caudle 13 and Sherrod Green added 12. Lemonte Johnson was the only Knight to hit double figures scoring 14. The final totals on turnovers Northern had 20 while Rocky Mount had 12 for the game throwing the ball away only seven time after the first quarter and even with the lead from 16-20 points the Gryphons push up court on every procession as if the 35 second clock only had three seconds to go.
The Gryphons out rebounded the Knights 43-25 and they had five rebounders with at least five boards. Sherrod Greene and Artavious Richardson lead the way with seven, Thomas Cooper 6, Kenaz Cooper 6, and Isaiah Alston five.
The Big East tournament starts Monday at Fike. Southern Nash got back on the plus side in the win column with a 77-63 victory over Nash Central
Northern Nash Girls and Hunt get byes in the girls Tournament next week while Rocky Mount will face Southern Nash and Fike will faceoff with Nash Central. The RockyMount/Southern winner will draw Hunt in the semis while Northern awaits the Fike/ Nash Central winner
Hunt gets a bye for first and Northern Nash second while Rocky Mount will play Nash Central and Fike meets Southern Nash. The F/SN winner will get Hunt in the semis while Northern Nash rest waiting for either RM/NC
Friday, February 13, 2015
Lady Gryphons Stand In The Way
Tonight five Northern Nash girls basketball players will play their last regular season game in high school. None of the five played every game as a freshman in fact some were on the JV team but these five will have to go down in the history of Northern Nash girls basketball for their part in the best four years in Northern Girls history despite having a state championship team in the 90's.
Mary Evans, Susie Sykes, Alexia Hines, Kiana Thomas and Jarnese Flowers are part of a basketball program that in the last four years has won 88 games and lost but 8 times. That 22 wins a season and only two losses per.
Their worse of the four years was the freshman year of 2012 when they managed only 20 wins. It is also the year that their most hated rival, beat them four times which were the only losses they suffered the entire season. Just a review Northern beat Rocky Mount in the Christmas Tournament in 2011 but Rocky Mount gave Northern their first loss of the season in January. Then the last games of the season, the next Friday of the conference tournament and the sectional finals on three straight Fridays all went the Gryphons way.
Now sophomore years the Lady Knights run the table and go undefeated in the regular season and they beat those Gryphons three times. Northern will lose their first game of the year in the conference finals in overtime once again to Rocky Mount. Now memory lane Northern and Rocky Mount both win opening sectional games and are scheduled to play each other on a Wednesday at Northern Nash. The Rocky Mount boys have a Wednesday second round game start in Rocky Mount at six and after a victory load up to travel to Northern where the Lady Gryphons do it to the Knights again. 22 wins and 2 losses. Two losses and Rocky Mount wins for a total of all six Northern Nash losses in two years.
Enough is enough. Northern starts the opening game of 2013 losing to Southern Wayne. They would not lose again until the playoffs and that would include beating Rocky Mount four times. They would go unbeaten in conference, conference Tournament and sectionals and make it to Fayetteville where they would run into a West Craven team with a major division one recruit and finish 26-2.
Heading into tonight's game Northern has beaten Rocky Mount twice and stand at 20-0. They have beaten Rocky Mount six straight times. Six of the eight losses the Knights have suffered in the last four years have come from those Gryphons.
The Lady Knights have lost three regular season games in the last four years. They have lost three in the State Playoffs and twice in the conference tournament. This team has gotten better each year and there seems to be only one team in the east that might stop them from heading to Raleigh and the state championship. Eastern wayne is the only other unbeaten in Eastern North Carolina. Tonight their biggest nemisis once again stands in their way for an unbeaten season. Can Rocky Mount give Northern their first loss of the season for the third time in four years?? Will the Lady Knights Stand undefeated in their arch rivals gym?? Game time is 6pm at Rocky Mount.
Mary Evans, Susie Sykes, Alexia Hines, Kiana Thomas and Jarnese Flowers are part of a basketball program that in the last four years has won 88 games and lost but 8 times. That 22 wins a season and only two losses per.
Their worse of the four years was the freshman year of 2012 when they managed only 20 wins. It is also the year that their most hated rival, beat them four times which were the only losses they suffered the entire season. Just a review Northern beat Rocky Mount in the Christmas Tournament in 2011 but Rocky Mount gave Northern their first loss of the season in January. Then the last games of the season, the next Friday of the conference tournament and the sectional finals on three straight Fridays all went the Gryphons way.
Now sophomore years the Lady Knights run the table and go undefeated in the regular season and they beat those Gryphons three times. Northern will lose their first game of the year in the conference finals in overtime once again to Rocky Mount. Now memory lane Northern and Rocky Mount both win opening sectional games and are scheduled to play each other on a Wednesday at Northern Nash. The Rocky Mount boys have a Wednesday second round game start in Rocky Mount at six and after a victory load up to travel to Northern where the Lady Gryphons do it to the Knights again. 22 wins and 2 losses. Two losses and Rocky Mount wins for a total of all six Northern Nash losses in two years.
Enough is enough. Northern starts the opening game of 2013 losing to Southern Wayne. They would not lose again until the playoffs and that would include beating Rocky Mount four times. They would go unbeaten in conference, conference Tournament and sectionals and make it to Fayetteville where they would run into a West Craven team with a major division one recruit and finish 26-2.
Heading into tonight's game Northern has beaten Rocky Mount twice and stand at 20-0. They have beaten Rocky Mount six straight times. Six of the eight losses the Knights have suffered in the last four years have come from those Gryphons.
The Lady Knights have lost three regular season games in the last four years. They have lost three in the State Playoffs and twice in the conference tournament. This team has gotten better each year and there seems to be only one team in the east that might stop them from heading to Raleigh and the state championship. Eastern wayne is the only other unbeaten in Eastern North Carolina. Tonight their biggest nemisis once again stands in their way for an unbeaten season. Can Rocky Mount give Northern their first loss of the season for the third time in four years?? Will the Lady Knights Stand undefeated in their arch rivals gym?? Game time is 6pm at Rocky Mount.
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