Princeton, A-G girls advance to Carolina 1-A semifinals

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 19, 2013 1:47 PM

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PRINCETON -- Princeton struggled through an off-shooting night.

Ayden-Grifton continued its late-season surge.

Sophomore point guard Charley Cox collected a game-high eight points and the Bulldogs eliminated North Duplin, 38-7, from the 2013 Carolina 1-A Conference girls' basketball tournament Monday evening.

Ashley Dillahunt paced four Chargers in double figures with 19 points during a 75-40 triumph over Spring Creek in the other quarterfinal-round contest.

Princeton (14-9 overall) meets second-seeded Rosewood in the semifinals Thursday at Mount Olive College. Ayden-Grifton, the 2009 and 2010 tournament champ, opposes top-seeded Goldsboro in the other semifinal.

The finals are Friday at MOC.

The Bulldogs and youth-ladened Rebels each missed their fair share of shots within eight feet of the basket throughout the ragged affair. Lyndsie Harrell's two free throws ended a 14-minute scoring drought for the Rebels in the opening half.

Princeton led 18-2 at that point.

Fifth-seeded Spring Creek, which has no seniors in its starting lineup, played inspired early against fourth-seeded Ayden-Grifton. The game was tied at 2, 4, 6 and 8 before the Chargers grabbed a 17-12 lead after one quarter.

The Gators pulled to within 29-25 late in the second period, but surrendered a 10-0 run on careless turnovers against the Chargers' full-court press. Ayden-Grifton flourished in the transition game in the third quarter and cruised to its eighth win of the season.

Junior Alyssa Borja poured in a game-high 29 points for the Gators, who concluded the year 2-20 overall.