Cox leads Princeton girls with 23-point effort

By Cam Ellis
Published in Sports on January 30, 2015 1:48 PM

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PRINCETON -- Charley Cox's night started off anything but impressive.

By the end, however, it was a completely different story.

Cox scored 23 points -- 17 in the second half -- as the Bulldogs pulled away from Spring Creek, 50-43, in a crucial Carolina 1-A Conference game Thursday evening.

Tied at 20 through halftime, Princeton (6-11 overall, 4-5 CC) started connecting from long distance, hitting three 3-pointers en route to an 18-point quarter. A senior, Cox finished the night with five 3-pointers.

Her clutch free throw shooting in the fourth quarter sealed the win. She ended up 6 for 7 from the stripe and didn't miss her final five attempts.

"We work on free throws constantly," she said. "I'm really confident in anyone's (on Princeton) free throw ability."

While Cox led the team in scoring, the game was something of a coming out party for forward Emily Ricks. The freshman had 14 points -- all coming from the post. She looked especially impressive on the pick-and-pop, and her jumper from the high post gave the Gators fits all night.

"I think Emily really stepped up during the first half," Cox added. "She really kept us in the game. She hit a lot of big shots and played very smart for her age."

Ricks' effort caught head coach Marty Gurganus' attention.

"She was very smart about finding the gaps," he said. "You've got to find the gap in the defense and then attack it, and she did that several times. Fortunately, our guards and wing players were able to hit her there at the right moment when she was still open and could make those baskets."

Amber Buchan led the Gators with 20 points -- 15 from behind the 3-point line. Ashley Marriner and Jordan Lane added seven points apiece.

A sectional semifinalist last season. Princeton's season hasn't turned out quite like Gurganus and his players have hoped it would. But the final two playoff berths remain up in the air, which heightens the importance of each remaining game as the regular season winds down.

"It's a huge win," Gurganus said. "We know there are a group of teams that are kind of clumped together. Out of that grouping, someone's still got a shot at third or fourth place. You want to finish as high in the standings as you can."