LAURINBURG — The wins just keep on coming for the No. 8 seeded Lady Scots basketball team (20-8).
On Thursday night, the Lady Scots used a strong second half defensive effort and an 18-point third quarter to rally for a 51-34 win over the No. 24 seeded Currituck County Knights (11-14) in the second round of the NCHSAA 3A East playoffs, and advance to the third round for the first time since 2012.
“We knew they (Currituck County) could shoot,” Lady Scots head coach Roshien McClain said. “Madison Dixon had the assignment of (Annabelle O’Donnell), who’s their leading scorer; she only had nine (points) tonight. She only hit one 3 (and) she only hit two field goals. So, that was very key (in) shutting her down. Also…we won the third quarter, which will always be our quarter. When we play well in the third quarter, that’s where we usually take care of business.”
Despite the well-executed play in the second half, the Lady Scots got into foul trouble early on, committing 10 first half fouls and finishing with a total of 20. Both teams combined for 41 fouls on the night.
McClain said he had to go deep into the bench because of it, but that his bench played well.
“We were in foul trouble tonight with Alicia (McClain) and Morgan (Thompson), and Kayla (Simmons) fouled out,” Roshien McClain said. “But, we had other people step up; Danasia (Lodge) stepped up, Asiah (McInnis) stepped up, (and) Eliza (Meza-Moreno) stepped up. Then, it was just simple basketball.”
The Lady Scots were able to take a 6-2 lead early in the first quarter, after Madysan Hammonds and Alicia McClain each connected on 3-pointers. A 3 from Currituck County’s Eboni Bailey made it a one-point game, but a layup from Thompson and a free throw by Alicia McClain put the Lady Scots ahead 9-5 at the 3:34 mark. The Knights found some momentum and managed to take a 10-9 lead, however, a trey by Hammonds before the buzzer sounded helped the Lady Scots go back up 12-10 going into the second quarter.
The Lady Scots scored eight of the first 11 points in the second quarter to go up 20-13, which included two jumpers from Thompson. A 3-pointer from O’Donnell made it a four-point game, until Thompson extended the Lady Scots’ lead to 22-16 on a pair of free throw makes. The Knights answered with three free throws of their own just before halftime, but the Lady Scots still led 22-19 at the break.
Back-to-back layups from Thompson opened the third quarter, giving the Lady Scots a 26-19 lead. After her second layup though, a technical foul would be called on Thompson, resulting in O’Donnell knocking down two technical free throws and making it a five-point game at the 7:18 mark. From there, a free throw by Alicia McClain would kick-start a 12-4 run by the Lady Scots, which saw Thompson score seven points during the stretch, to make their lead 38-25, their largest of the game at that point. After a free throw from Currituck County’s Riley Parker with 1:29 left in the frame, a runner by Thompson gave her the 12th and 13th points she scored in the period, and sent the Lady Scots into the fourth quarter with a 40-26 advantage.
The Knights scored seven of the first 11 points in the fourth quarter, making their deficit 44-33 with just under four minutes to go, but they’d score just one point the rest of the game. The Lady Scots closed the game with three free throws, a floater by Hammonds, and a layup from Thompson.
Thompson led all scorers with 25 points, including 17 in the second half, and Hammonds had 11 with three 3s.
While Thompson was in a scoring funk during the first half, Roshien McClain explained what he said to Thompson to help her explode in the second half.
“I told Morgan ‘stop jitterbugging with the ball, just go straight to the cup,’” he said. “Your other road dogs are in foul trouble, so ain’t much you can do but go take over the game. That’s what she did with 25 points tonight and most of them in the second half.”
No player for Currituck County scored in double figures, with O’Donnell finishing as the leading scorer.
With the win, the Lady Scots advance to the third round on Feb. 25 and will play the No. 1 seed of the 3A East, E.E. Smith, in Fayetteville at 1 p.m.
Roshien McClain said he knows it’ll be a challenge and believes, to beat E.E. Smith, it’s all about toughness.
“Against them (E.E. Smith), you must play tough; you must be mentally tough and physically tough,” he said. “They’re (E.E. Smith) gonna play the same way they’ve been playing all year. We have to make them change by finishing layups, by expecting contact, expecting not getting (a) call; you’re either gonna play or get beat by 40 (points). We’re gonna go play and we’re gonna try to win. Come watch us play at E.E. Smith; we’re gonna be ready.”
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