Varsity Girls Basketball State Championship Tournament
Another step forward for the Lady Wolfpack of Whiteville High School as they slide past the Seaforth Hawks 44-39 in the second round of the State Championship Tournament last night. The gym was filled with the Wolfpack Nation faithful and even most of the boys’ varsity squad was there to support their lady counterparts. There was even a nice section of Hawk fans that made the trip. I grabbed a seat down low this time and hunkered down to watch this exciting Wolfpack team.
The Seaforth team was out on the court early to warm up and the first thing that I noticed was the height of the Hawks squad. The second thing I noticed was the accuracy of their shooters. I know it was warm-ups, but you can see this Seaforth team was well coached and had good technique. I also have seen the Whiteville team a few times and knew that their speed and tenacious defense was going to give their opponents a tough time. The Whiteville squad came onto the floor with under five minutes to warm up and get ready for the game and it showed in the first quarter. It was a tight game to begin, and the Wolfpack used the start of the game to really get warmed up. It was 10-9 after the first quarter and Whiteville had the lead, but they also gave the Hawks hope with some sloppy play and turnovers.
The second and third quarters were different as the Wolfpack was warmed up and was scoring points in bunches, even bringing Wolfpack Nation to their feet as Trinity Smith hit a buzzer beating 3-pointer from deep to end the first half. Every one of the Lady Wolfpack that stepped on the floor contributed to this team win. Their tenacious defense was even more fierce for a while and helped put the Wolfpack up by 20 points at the end of the third quarter 38-18. With the big lead Coach Serena Smith made sure even bench players got into the game, they almost stayed on the floor too long. The Seaforth team scrapped their way back into it cutting the lead all the way down to five points. Coach Smith called a good time out to calm her team and get most of the starters back on the floor. Whiteville held on to win 44-39 and will move on to the third round at St. Pauls tomorrow with a 4pm tip-off. Tickets are $8 for this third round of the State Tournament playoff game.
– Vinny Pagano is the Sports Editor for Columbus County News and Sports Director for WTXY Kool 103.9FM & AM1540. Local Sports stories, as well as questions and comments can be submitted to Vinny at sports@kool1039radio.com
