GIRLS -- No. 6-ranked Warriors deny Golden Falcons' upset bid

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 17, 2015 11:24 PM

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rcoggins@newsargus.com

PIKEVILLE -- Down by one with 1.5 seconds to go, Myleah Jones toed the free throw line.

Charles B. Aycock needed one more free throw to extend No. 6-ranked and county rival Eastern Wayne into overtime. Jones' shot clanged off the right side of the iron, Tianna Christopher tracked down the rebound and time expired, giving the Warriors a 52-51 victory.

It was just another missed chance in a game of blown opportunities by both teams. Aycock committed three turnovers in the final 90 seconds, including a 3-second lane violation.

The Warriors shot a paltry 4 of 9 from the free throw line in the final quarter and 8 of 21 for the game.

"I told them the last eight minutes was going to be a pure-T dog fight," EW head coach Phil Gray said. "That's what it was. Aycock played hard throughout the game, kept fighting back and kept playing strong."

Myleah Jones' uncontested layup and short jumper in the paint pushed Aycock ahead, 50-47, with about 41/2 minutes remaining in regulation.

The Warriors (15-0 overall) answered with two quick baskets -- Christopher's driving layup, and Shontel Monk's steal/assist to a wide-open Naheria Hamilton in transition.

The intensity and physicality increased as both teams scrambled for loose balls that resulted in either fouls or held-ball situations. Aycock (13-4) misfired on its final nine offensive possessions, including two misses on one-and-one chances at the free throw line.

The Golden Falcons shot 13 of 19 from the stripe.

"We had our chances, had a few calls go against us there at the end," CBA head coach Roy Harrell said. "I told my girls if we take care of things along the way, that call here or there doesn't hurt us at the end. That's the learning point there.

"The girls played a great game and left it all out on the floor."

Eastern Wayne, which leads the series 13-12 since 2004, took command with a first-half 14-4 run that forced Harrell to burn a 30-second timeout.

Aycock chipped away at the deficit and knotted the game at 24-24 on Jones' 3-pointer after Lorie Edmundson had blocked a shot by Megan Mozingo, gathered the rebound and pushed it forward to Jones.

"Our girls, sometimes, are sluggish out the gate and don't get in the flow," Harrell said. "Once they get it in, they do pretty well."

The Warriors answered with another run, this time a 15-7 surge that made it 39-31 in the third quarter. The Golden Falcons pulled to within 39-37 with 1:20 left on the clock.

The rally set the stage for the final eight minutes.

Mozingo led Eastern Wayne with 14 points, while Hamilton provided 13 points, nine points and four blocked shots before fouling out. Christopher chipped in 11 points.

Daniels cranked out a game-high 18 points for Aycock, which dropped to 4-2 in Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference play this season. Jones and Ashley Darden contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively.