Goldsboro eliminates So. Guilford

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on February 25, 2009 1:46 PM

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Goldsboro started slowly, but once its offense got rolling against Southern Guilford, the result was a 67-49 victory Tuesday evening.

It was a perfect start to what head coach Brandy Smith hopes is a lengthy stay in the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 2-A girls' basketball playoffs.

"Tonight was a great way to get things going," said Smith. "We made it to the sectional round last season, and our goal is to make it past that this year."

Southern Guilford opened the game with back-to-back 3-pointers from Kamille Horne and opened a 6-0 lead in their first three possessions.

The Cougars came back strong.

Akeyanna Whitlor snagged an offensive rebound and sank a putback, which ignited an 11-2 run. Fellow forward Millicent Kornegay buried a short jump shot in the final minute of the first quarter and pushed the Cougars' lead to 17-11.

The duo continued to dominate in a slow second quarter. The Cougars held the Storm to just six points in the period and built a 14-point halftime advantage.

"Akeyanna and Millicent were both on top of their game tonight," said Smith. "There have been times this year we have waited too long to get into our offense, but tonight our forwards made themselves available early for both shots and rebounds."

After the break, both teams picked up their offensive intensity.

Horne and center Lyndsey Inman tried to keep the Storm within striking distance, but Kornegay was simply too strong. Point guard Ki'Ana Williams also stepped up for the Cougars and scored six of her eight points in the second half.

"Kiana was struggling a little bit offensively, but she did a nice job finding her teammates," said Smith. "Any time a player has 11 assists, they have certainly helped their team's offense."

Kornegay led the Cougars (19-8 overall) with a double-double -- 21 points and 10 rebounds. Whitlor added her own double-double with 14 points and 11 boards. Williams finished with eight points and 11 assists. teammate Victoria Williams scored 13 points.

Horne paced the Storm (6-21) with 18 points and eight rebounds.

Goldsboro entertains Burlington Cummings at 7 p.m. Thursday.