Hawk girls drop EW

Published in Sports on December 31, 2004 1:56 PM

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LAGRANGE -- It looked for all the world like the North Lenoir girls were simply playing around in the first half of their game with Eastern Wayne Thursday night.

When the Hawks finally started rolling, they were like a boulder bounding down the side of a mountain. Trailing by a point midway through the second quarter, North Lenoir erupted for an 80-45 triumph to claim the championship of The Free Press Invitational at Wooten Gymnasium.

The Hawks actually trailed 9-3 in the opening three minutes, prompting a quick timeout from Floyd.

North Lenoir recovered to take a 20-15 lead before Eastern Wayne regained the lead at 25-24 on a pair of Deniz Alemandar free throws with 5:19 left in the half.

That's when the floodgates opened. The Hawks forced turnovers on four consecutive possessions and ended the first half on a 10-0 run, capped by Chanee Lynch's steal and lay-up.

And it didn't get any better for the Warriors after intermission.

Eastern Wayne closed to within six on a Yasmine Washington 3-pointer, but then the Hawks reeled off another one of their patented runs, scoring 12 of the game's next 14 points.

By the time the third period mercifully ended, the Hawks had exploded for 30 points in the frame, half of which were tallied by Carla Miller.

"Carla really gave us a spark after halftime," North Lenoir coach Wayne Floyd said. "Her play helped open up the inside for Shannon (Plymouth, who had a game-high 24 points)."

Although the Hawks called off the press in the fourth quarter, they still ended up forcing 34 Warriors turnovers.

Miller added 18 points for the Hawks, while Helena Davis contributed 13.

Miller, Plymouth, and Lynch were all named to the All-Tournament team.

Girls championship

Eastern Wayne 15 10 15 5 -- 45

North Lenoir 20 14 30 16 -- 80

Eastern Wayne

Sirra King 13, Wiley 9, Washington 7, Sims 4, Alemandar 4, McLamb 4, Kelly 2, Berry 2.

North Lenoir

Shannon Plymouth 24, Carla Miller 18, Helena Davis 12, Newkirk 8, Lynch 6, Rasberry 4, Spruill 4, Dunn 2, Miller 2.