Pickle Winter Classic -- Southern Vance girls upset E. Wayne in title game

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on December 28, 2013 11:34 PM

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astevens@newsargus.com

MOUNT OLIVE -- Eastern Wayne is no stranger to big games on big stages, but that experience appeared to be missing when it mattered most on Saturday evening.

Southern Vance executed with the game on the line during a 55-52 victory in the championship game of the inaugural Southern Bank-Mount Olive Pickle Winter Classic at the University of Mount Olive.

Breona Jones scored 14 points and earned Most Valuable Player honors. All-tournament pick Kechae Parker led the Raiders with 20 points.

Tianna Christopher tallied 16 points for the Warriors, while all-tournament pick Shontel Monk supplied 11.

Eastern Wayne (6-1 overall) scored six of the first eight points in overtime.

Parker stepped up for Southern Vance and delivered five consecutive points to give the Raiders the lead for good at 53-52.

"Not having faith and giving up every time we messed up made the difference," Eastern Wayne's Apriann Sutton said. "Every time we made a turnover we gave up. We didn't push ourselves, we didn't play our defense."

Rashyda Powell added a pair of free throws and Jasmine Covington's 3-pointer was off the mark at the buzzer. With Christopher having fouled out, the Warriors lacked a true perimeter shooter on the game's final possession.

"(Christopher) is definitely one of our main scorers and one of our best defensive players so we really felt her absence," Sutton said. "Not having her on the floor at the end hurt also, because again, she's one of our scorers and best 3-point shooters."

Eastern Wayne started slowly offensively as Southern Vance's ball pressure led to eight first-quarter turnovers. Layups from Megan Mozingo and Chelsea Wynn helped the Warriors force an 8-8 tie after the opening eight minutes of the game.

The Warriors cleaned up their turnovers in the second quarter and used dribble penetration to get easy baskets in the paint. A 10-4 run helped the Warriors build a 20-14 lead.

Southern Vance used a 6-0 run, all from the free throw line, to take a 28-26 lead.

Christopher caught fire for the Warriors in the fourth quarter and scored nine of her 16 points.

The Raiders refused to go away and closed to within a single point on five different occasions. Cordecia Southerland's 3-pointer with 90 seconds to play put Southern Vance in front 46-44.

Eastern Wayne committed costly turnovers on its next three possessions.

A traveling violation with 15 seconds to play gave possession back to the Warriors. Naheria Hamilton's layup off Covington's assist tied the game at 46-46 with six seconds left.

Carrington Matias' 3-point attempt clanged off the rim at the end of regulation for the Raiders.