Southern Wayne girls break away late against CBA

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on January 29, 2016 1:48 PM

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DUDLEY -- A loss avenged.

A skid finally ends.

Southern Wayne closed out the game with a 16-5 run and turned back county rival Charles B. Aycock, 45-39, on the Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference scene Thursday evening.

The Saints snapped a seven-game losing streak against ECC opposition and won on their home court for just the third time this season. Senior point guard Zaria Atkins led all scorers with 19 points, including 10 in the final period.

"We just picked up our defensive intensity," SW assistant coach Takisha Vann said of her team's fourth-quarter effort. "We have a tendency to come in and out (mentally), and it just came at the right time tonight."

Aycock took its last lead, 29-28, when Mookie Powell banked in a 3-point shot at least two feet behind the arc. Southern Wayne (6-12, 1-7 ECC) regained the lead on Ebony Fuller's putback -- her lone field goal of the third quarter.

Atkins' offensive putback, an uncontested steal off of a layup and an assist to Iyahna Bess in transition extended the margin to 35-28 barely midway through the final period.

The Golden Falcons (7-11, 1-6) never threatened from that point and suffered their sixth consecutive defeat.

"They games they really want, they come to play," Vann said.

Taylor Daniels and Powell paced the Golden Falcons' offense with 13 and 12 points, respectively.