J. Kenan-Farm. Central

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 26, 2004 1:55 PM

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FARMVILLE -- James Kenan struggled in a cold start and was eliminated from the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 1-A girls basketball playoffs by Farmville Central 61-25 Wednesday night.

The Lady Tigers (17-9) got 10 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks from 6-2 senior Sareece Armwood. Four other seniors -- Janiqua Obey, Sherell Rivers, Sheyel Rosario and Tiffany Nurse -- helped lead a youth-laden team to the state's round of 32 and established a foundation for a return to recent glory.

"It was a great season," head coach Wendy Lanier said of a second-place finish in the Super Six Conference and second-round playoff appearance. "This (tonight) was disappointing to me. What was on the floor was not what Tiger basketball is all about.

"The girls let the polls and the records get into their heads. We tried to tell them that it did not matter. When the first squad didn't do well, we put the second squad in. I was impressed with them."

The Lady Tigers were in the Eastern Regional twice in the last three years, but missed the playoffs last season. This season, however, was deemed neither an overachievement or an underachievement.

Lanier's encouragement is with a returning group that, minus her five seniors, included one junior and all freshmen and sophomores in uniform Wednesday. It's a group that got a tough test from a program in a successful run.

"The opportunity could have been there," Lanier said. "We were tight. We knew they would press, and we worked on getting the ball to the middle. But every time, we got to a corner and got trapped."

The Lady Jaguars (26-1), ranked No. 2 in the state and the state runner-up to Thomasville last season, pressed into the second half and ran up a lead of 32 points before halftime. Farmville Central not only held the Lady Tigers without points for multiple long stretches, but also held them without shots for extended periods.

James Kenan was 3-for-28 (10.7 percent) from the floor with 33 turnovers in the first three quarters. At halftime Farmville Central led 36-6, James Kenan had 25 turnovers compared to 14 shots attempted (three made) and Lady Jaguars' sophomore all-state candidate Megan Zullo nearly had a triple-double.

Zullo scored 13 points, made eight steals and had five assists at the break. She finished with 17 points, 10 steals and seven assists. Nevada Joyner added 13 points, and Ashley Harris scored 11 points and pulled 10 rebounds.

Underclassmen Eteika Vann and Lashanda Smith had seven rebounds each for the Lady Tigers.

"We started out with the intention of finishing first in our conference, not second," Lanier said. "Getting here was not a miracle. We expected it, and our goal was to go farther."

2004 N.C. High School

Athletic Association

Class 1-A

Sectional No. 3 semifinals

(At Farmville Central HS)

Girls

James Kenan 4 2 1 18 -- 25

Farmville Central 18 18 13 12 -- 61

JAMES KENAN (17-9)

Janiqua Obey 1 0 1-2 3, Crystal Evans 0 0 0-0 0, Lauren Houston 1 0 0-0 2, Sherell Rivers 0 0 2-2 2, Aisha Tabor 0 0 0-0 0, Eteika Vann 2 0 0-0 4, T. Stroud 1 0 0-0 2, Taylor Lanier 0 0 0-0 0, Lashonda Smith 0 0 0-0 0, Hannah Adams 0 0 0-0 0, Tiffany Nurse 0 0 0-0 0, Sheyel Rosario 1 0 0-0 2, Sareece Armwood 5 0 0-0 10, Tiffine Wilson 0 0 0-0 0. TOTALS -- 11 0 3-4 25.

FARMVILLE CENTRAL (26-1)

Nevada Joyner 5 2 1-2 13, Kim Zullo 3 0 0-0 6, Megan Zullo 7 1 2-2 17, Nicole Hamill 2 0 0-0 4, Ashley Harris 8 0 3-4 11, Austin Branch 0 0 0-0 0, Natsuki Amano 1 0 0-0 2, Yolanda Mercer 1 0 0-0 2, Julia Richardson 0 0 0-0 0, Jessica Joyner 1 0 0-0 2, Shawanna Andrews 1 0 0-0 2, Lashonna Shannon 1 0 0-0 2, Shakina Gorham 0 0 0-0 0. TOTALS -- 26 3 6-8 61.

Three-point baskets -- James Kenan 0, Farmville Central 3 (Joyner 2, M. Zullo). Turnovers -- James Kenan 37, Farmville Central 23. Fouled out -- none. Technicals -- none.