Pickle Winter Classic -- Saints escape Goldsboro's girls in OT

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on December 28, 2013 11:34 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Everyone knew the "go-to" players and they all wondered which one would win the battle.

Zaria Atkins delivered nine of her game-high 27 points in overtime and helped Southern Wayne turn back pesky Goldsboro, 51-44, in the third-place game of the 2013 Southern Bank-Mount Olive Pickle Winter Classic on Saturday afternoon.

The Saints have won all three meetings against the Cougars this season.

"It was a grinder," SW head coach Ricky Lofton said. "Right at the end, our girls stepped up, Cierra (Thompson) and Z (Atkins). We made a lot of mistakes, but they did what they had to do (to win).

"It's hard to beat a team three times in a season."

It was another fourth-quarter comeback for Goldsboro, which endured its fifth straight defeat.

Sierra Barksdale's 3-pointer tied the game at 38-38 with less than a minute to go in regulation. Atkins pushed the Saints back in front, 40-38, and Goldsboro misfired on its next possession.

During a mad scramble for a loose ball, Goldsboro head coach LaTina Bullock shouted "timeout" with 8.1 seconds to go. Sophomore Tyona Moses drew a blocking foul against Atkins and drained the game-tying free throws with five seconds on the clock.

"For us to come back and play Southern Wayne, lose by seven in overtime, says a lot about the depth that we have on our team," Bullock said. "We played good during the game. Once we went into overtime, we kind of slacked off which cost us the game.

"If we had continued to play upbeat which helped us get into overtime, the (overall) result may have been different."

The teams battled through three lead changes in the extra session.

Moses gave the Cougars their last advantage, 43-42, with 3:08 to go. The Saints answered with a 9-1 run that included a traditional three-point play by Atkins with 1:20 left on the clock.

"Moses just killed us," a grinning Lofton said. "Everybody knows each other because we've played them twice. They knew who our 'go-to' girl was and we knew who their 'go-to' girl was. I'm just glad we got a win.

Moses logged a double-double -- 25 points, 16 rebounds -- for the Cougars, who converted more free throws (18) than field goals (11) on the day. Nickie Tyler snagged 15 rebounds and scored five points.

Barksdale canned a pair of 3-pointers despite playing in foul trouble the entire second half. Amari Thompson collected 15 rebounds and blocked six shots.

Sharonne Maultsby complemented Atkins with an eight-point effort. Thompson contributed seven points, three assists, six steals and five rebounds.