CBA girls match Havelock's intensity, advances to 3rd round

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 28, 2013 1:47 PM

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PIKEVILLE -- Charles B. Aycock's girls have used the Clemson philosophy -- play ugly and make the other team play ugly -- throughout this basketball season.

Wednesday was no exception.

The 12th-seeded Golden Falcons (14-13 overall) played another hard-nosed defensive game, scrambled after loose balls and eased past Havelock, 47-41, in second-round action of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A playoffs.

Myleah Jones and Ashley Darden each posted a double-double for Aycock, which travels to county rival Eastern Wayne on Friday. Tip-off is 6 p.m. with a trip to the eastern regionals at stake.

Jones collected 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Darden supplied 13 points and 11 rebounds. Taylor Daniels tallied 11 points, including eight in the second half.

"Ashley played a good game and Myleah usually comes to play, and they keyed on Myleah ... beat her up a little bit," CBA head coach Laura Romo said. "Ashley stepped up and Lauren (Butler) did, came in and played great defense. I thought we rebounded well."

Aycock owned the boards 35-28 and the teams combined for 45 turnovers.

Havelock guard Apriel Barnette converted a steal into a layup, which trimmed the Golden Falcons' lead to 34-28 with 6 1/2 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

Jones' old-fashioned three-point play sparked an 8-2 run for Aycock that was capped by Darden's layup.

The 13th-seeded Rams (16-12) closed the gap to 43-38 on two Barnette 3-pointers and Shakina Dyer's offensive putback. But they would get no closer as the Darden and teammate Kayla Newsome closed the deal at the free throw line.

"I thought our intensity on defense ... we were a little bit manhandled at the beginning, but our kids stepped up and matched their aggressive style of play," Romo said.