Moses' third-quarter steal sparks Goldsboro girls

By News-Argus Staff
Published in Sports on December 3, 2015 1:48 PM

• Print
• Email

By BRANDON DAVIS

bdavis@newsargus.com

Three seconds remained in the third quarter, and Goldsboro High senior Tyona Moses turned up the pressure on Eastern Wayne's guards.

Moses stole the ball off of an inbounds pass, sprinted down court and laid the ball off of the glass to give her team a 41-40 score before the final quarter.

The Cougars -- on the road -- never trailed again as they defeated Warriors 50-45 on Wednesday evening.

"She (Moses) has long arms, and when she gets aggressive, she creates more offense for us in transition," Cougars head coach LaTina Bullock said.

As the first-quarter gates opened, Moses stole the ball from the Warriors and drew a foul -- sinking both free throws. Moses drove into the lane, scored two more points Goldsboro tied the game at 6-6.

The Warriors pulled out an old defense -- full-court pressure.

Eastern Wayne (1-1 overall) frustrated Goldsboro guards and caused several turnovers. Senior Naheria Hamilton assisted freshman Nyesha Best with two points in the paint. Nyesha stole the ball, ran the court and threw up a bank shot -- which the game at 10-all after one quarter.

Sophomore Tammaria Smith chased down a loose ball and passed it to Nyesha which led to an assist from freshman Myesha Best to Hamilton for two more points and a chance at the foul line.

Myesha assisted Hamilton with a 2-point shot down low, and the guard/center combination pushed the Warriors to a 29-22 halftime lead.

Warriors' point guard, Treycie Ford, fouled out at the start of the third quarter -- Myesha stepped up. She drove the court and assisted Hamilton with two more points. Nyesha assisted Hamilton as well, and the Warriors led the Cougars, 37-31, with four minutes left in the third quarter.

Moses stole the ball and scored two points on a drive to the basket. She then drew a foul and made both free throws.

Bullock called a timeout with one minute left before the fourth quarter -- she pulled out an old trick as well. The Cougars pressured the inbounds pass and Moses caused the game-changing turnover at the end of the third quarter.

Freshman McKayla Roberts hit a field goal, and senior Destini Covington assisted sophomore Destiny Lucas with a layup. Goldsboro's defense held Hamilton to five points in the fourth quarter, and the Cougars won their fifth game of the season.

"We just continued to box her (Hamilton) out and keep a body on her," Bullock said. "When we started boxing her out and putting a body on her and taking it to her in the paint, it played in our favor."

Moses recorded 24 points and was 9 of 12 from the foul line. Covington had eight points and was 4 of 4 from the line. Roberts ended the game with seven points.

Hamilton had 20 points and eight rebounds. Nyesha recorded nine points, four assists and four steals.

"The better team won tonight," Eastern Wayne head coach Phil Gray said. "They out hustled us in the second half, but Treycie fouling out at the beginning of the third quarter, that was big. The good thing is, we play them again on December 18."