On the warpath: Eastern Wayne girls off to 11-0 start

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on January 6, 2015 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

When the core five starters for the Eastern Wayne girls' basketball team got to high school after attending different middle schools, they questioned if they would get along.

For a while, those questions were warranted.

"None of them liked me," said Tianna Christopher of teammates Megan Mozingo, Shontel Monk, Jasmine Covington and Naheria Hamilton -- all members of the 2013 Eastern Wayne team that made it to the Eastern regional finals and posted a record of 28-2.

"When we were freshmen I made all of them try out for varsity."

But, as one may guess by the team's success, they eventually banded together.

The question is how did they do it?

The answer: The same way many high school girls bond -- a trip to the mall. The only difference was Christopher's teammates pushed her around in a wheelchair.

"I hurt my ankle really bad one of the days (in a tournament in Greensboro)," Christopher recalls. "They were helping me when my ankle was swollen. Picked me up, put me back in my bed. They were just there. Na picked me up on a luggage cart.

"It was bad, but they made it a lot better."

The bond developed between the quintet has done nothing but grow in the last two years. The girls are closer than they have ever been.

"I love these girls," Covington said. "We're so close now we could finish each other's sentences if we wanted to."

The results have carried over to the court now, too.

The Warriors are off to an 11-0 start and ranked No. 8 in most-recent NCPreps.com Class 3-A poll. All five of the players from the 2013 team are averaging seven points a game or more, and have suffocated every opponent with relentless defensive pressure.

Christopher leads the team with 14 points per game, followed by Covington with 11. Hamilton averages just over eight points and nine rebounds.

The Warriors get consistent scoring, ball handling and defense from Mozingo and Monk. In recent games, they've gotten big performances off the bench from Chelsea Wynn, who is averaging six points and eight rebounds.

A two-point deficit to a team from Philadelphia in a recent holiday tournament was the only time the Warriors have trailed all year as they venture back into Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference play tonight against J.H. Rose.

"We're smarter now," Monk said. "We play a lot smarter and more calm under pressure. We move our feet better and deny the ball, and don't use our hands on defense.

Two years ago, when the Warriors made it to the eastern regional, they were a deep team that liked to get up and down the floor. This season, the girls say they're not as deep, yet they play at an even faster pace. They also tend to force more turnovers and average 20 steals per contest.

"We're better on defense, we anticipate really well," Mozingo said. "Defense is our thing, it's like second nature to us."

The biggest difference, second-year EW head coach Phil Gray says, has come off the court though.

In the past the Warriors haven't always had the best reputation for how they carry themselves. But he has focused on turning that image around by using bible study, and making sure the girls focus on creating a positive image of themselves.

"Now we're not focused on being cocky or selfish and worrying about ourselves as much, we're giving the credit to the team, and giving God the glory," Gray said.

The results have been noticed. After a game against Goldsboro early this season, an official approached Christopher to tell her how impressed he was with the change in her attitude on the court.

Hamilton echoed that the Warriors haven't always had support from the community, but that it has done nothing but motivate this year's team to go further than they did two years ago.

"We don't have people on our side, but I think that's OK because it makes us want it more to prove them wrong," Hamilton said.