HERTFORD — The Perquimans County High School girls basketball team defeated Triangle Math and Science Academy 52-36 Friday night to move on to the third round of the NCHSAA state basketball tournament.
The Tigers of Triangle Math and Science used a barrage of three-pointers to keep the game close in the second half, but the Pirates grabbed the lead and kept it thanks in part to contributions from a number of different players.
Four Perquimans players landed in double figures on the night, with Lailana Harris leading the way with 13 points. Heather Smith had 11 points, followed by Crishya Sellers and Kaydee Hunter with 10 each. Krista Linton rounded out the Pirates scoring with eight points.
Head coach Aaron Burke said afterward that getting scoring from so many different players is what he and other coaches preach.
"It's not about who puts the points in the book," Burke said. "It's about the team effort and playing defense and stopping people."
The Pirates' balanced scoring — four different players got into the scoring column in the first half — gave the Pirates a 14-11 lead after one quarter of play.
The Pirates also were stingy on defense. They held the Tigers to only eight points in the second quarter, extending their lead to 33-19 at the half.
Triangle Math and Science was held to only two three-pointers in the first half. That would change in the second half.
In fact, the only points the Tigers scored from the floor in the second half were from three-point land. Triangle's five three pointers — four in the fourth quarter — gave the Tigers a fighting chance. They cut the Pirates' lead to 12 at one point, but never managed to get closer and would end up losing by 16.
Burke said after the game that defending the three was something his team talked about.
"You just have to make them put the ball on the floor instead of letting them get open shots," he said.
It seemed to work. Most of the Tigers' successful three-pointers came in the first part of the fourth quarter.
Samrita Siram had seven of those three-pointers for the Tigers and would finish with 24 of Triangle's 36 points. Leanna Nohs had 10 points for the Tigers and Mennatullah Ibrahim had two points.
Perquimans moves on to the third round of the state tournament and will face the Pamlico High School Hurricanes. Pamlico is the 10-seed and upset seven-seeded Northampton 51-36 in the teams' second-round matchup on Friday night. The game is set for Tuesday and will be played at Perquimans.
Asked whether continuing to play at home in the tournament, which the No. 2-seeded Pirates will do, makes a difference, Burke said having home court isn't much of an advantage at this stage.
"At the end of the day you have to play basketball, whether you are at home or on the road," Burke said. "Yeah, you get home-court advantage but that always doesn’t mean everything. You have to go out and play basketball."
Asked if he planned to savor Friday's win or begin focusing on Pamlico, Burke said it will be a long weekend of film study and making a game plan for Tuesday.
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