Southern Wayne girls avenge playoff blowout loss

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on November 21, 2013 1:50 PM

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astevens@newsargus.com

DUDLEY -- Southern Wayne hadn't forgotten the 50-point loss it endured at Northern Nash in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association Class 3-A state playoffs last season.

The Saints got some payback Wednesday night.

Southern Wayne rallied from a 13-point, second-quarter deficit and upended the Knights, 56-51, in double overtime. Latrecia Johnson and Sharonne Maultsby paced the Saints' offense with 15 and 12 points, respectively.

"This is a big win for us," Saints' assistant coach Takisha Vann said. "They blew us out in the state playoffs last year, and just to know we've got that confidence and that they can play at that level is going to be big for us this season."

Southern Wayne trailed 29-16 in the third quarter before switching to a man-to-man defense to force more turnovers. The defensive intensity paid off as Southern Wayne closed the fourth quarter on a 12-3 run.

"We picked up our defensive intensity and that's what won us the ballgame," Vann said. "We came out sluggish in the first half and that's what put us in a bind."

Johnson's three-point-play with nine seconds left in regulation tied the game at 41-41.

"We ran a play with a little back screen and it was wide open," Vann said. "We've been practicing that and it just worked."

The Saints were just 4 for 14 from the free throw line in the first overtime. Sharrone Maultsby calmly sank two free throws with 13 seconds to play to tie the game at 49-49.

Southern Wayne scored the final five points of the second overtime from the free throw line to seal the win.

The Saints (2-2 overall) play host to North Lenoir on Friday.