BETHEL — North Pitt’s girls’ basketball team showed that while Southeast Alamance is far ahead of schedule, that’s still not enough to stop the Panthers.
North Pitt got big games from each of its top four players to beat the Stallions 86-62 Friday night in an NCHSAA 2A girls second-round playoff game.
“At the end of the day, if you try to take one of them away, we have other people who can step up,” North Pitt coach Antwon Pittman said. “That’s what we’ve been talking about since the beginning of the season, so it’s just coming to fruition now.”
The result was the Panthers’ 18th consecutive win that lifted their record to 25-3.
North Pitt, the No. 1 seed in the East, advanced to play Nash Central, a 32-27 second-round winner over the North Carolina School of Science and Math, in the third round Tuesday in Bethel.
Zamareya Jones finished with 35 points — including seven 3-pointers — three rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocked shots. Jordan Speller added 19 points, eight assists, three rebounds and a pair of steals. Kenae Edwards helped finish off Southeast Alamance, scoring 11 of her 14 points in the fourth quarter to keep a game Stallions team at bay.
Zihanna Lightfoot had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds to go with three assists and a pair of steals.
“That’s what we expect from her — a double-double every game,” Pittman said. “She’s standing up to the challenge.”
Jones and Speller got going in a hurry. Speller had four assists in the first quarter, while Jones hit three 3-pointers and had 13 points and a pair of assists. Lightfoot got to work inside, pulling down rebounds against two and sometimes three Southeast Alamance opponents constantly crashing the boards as the Panthers forged a 22-8 lead after one period.
Jones sank five 3-pointers and had 21 first-half points as North Pitt went to the locker room with a 44-24 halftime lead, prompting Southeast Alamance coach Amy Sarrett to adjust from a 1-2-2 zone to a box-and-one with the Stallions’ Natalie Lopez face-guarding Jones to start the second half.
“She was hitting shots and she’s a great player,” Sarrett said. “We couldn’t keep letting her make 3s, so we had to get out on her.”
“We’ve seen that time and time again this year, so the girls are prepared for anything that anyone throws at us,” Pittman said of the defensive adjustment. “We prepared in practice, and we mentally prepare that they might throw this at us.”
Southeast Alamance closed to within 15 points by hitting three of four free throws in the final minute of the third quarter after Speller picked up her fourth foul, followed immediately by a technical foul assessed to North Pitt’s bench.
But a 3-pointer from Edwards with an assist from Speller, a steal and layup by Jones and another Edwards shot from beyond the arc — again set up by Speller — in the first 1:37 of the fourth quarter pushed North Pitt’s lead back up to 67-42, prompting a timeout and ending any realistic comeback hopes for the Stallions.
“(Lightfoot) hurt us on the boards,” Sarrett said. “I felt like, overall, our girls played great. They’re a good team. There’s a reason why they’re a No. 1 seed.”
Shaniya Paylor had 24 points, six rebounds and three steals for Southeast Alamance in spite of being face-guarded by Speller for much of the game. Clara LaChapelle finished with 20 points and seven rebounds. Inysia McIver chipped in 10 points.
“On film, we told them they were probably the best team we have played since South Central (in the first week of January),” Pittman said, singling out Paylor and LaChapelle’s efforts.
Southeast Alamance, the No. 16 seed from the Mid-Carolina 1A/2A Conference, is a remarkable story in its own right. A first-year program, the Stallions are the first new high school to open in Alamance County in 50 years. Its 13-player roster consists of only freshmen and sophomores.
“Four of them I had coached at another school in the county, so I knew what their potential was,” Sarrett said. “And we had a good team that year, too. I knew we were going to be competitive, but I didn’t know we were going to do what we did this season. They’ve been really awesome kids.”
The Stallions finished the season 20-8.
BOYS’ BASKETBALL
Farmville Central 83, Northeastern 64
Seeing each other for the third time this season but on the biggest stage yet, Northeastern gave Farmville Central everything it had in Friday night’s second-round playoff bout, but the Jaguars were still too much.
Host and No. 1 seed Farmville improved to 27-1 and rocketed into the third round against No. 9 seed Southwest Onslow (23-5). The Stallions went on the road to upset No. 8 East Carteret on Friday night, 53-44.
The Jags improved to 3-0 against the Eagles and ended their season at 20-9.
But the visitors battled Farmville in a high-scoring first quarter that ended with the Jags ahead 24-22. In the second, Farmville found its usual footing, running off a 24-12 run to lead 48-34 at the intermission. That proved to be the difference, as the teams played close third and fourth quarters to the finish line.
The 19-point deficit was actually the closest of the three finishes between the teams as Farmville won the previous meetings against the Eagles by 29 and 24 points.
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