Published: 03:02 PM, Mon Mar 08, 2010
Westover girls fall short in regional final
GREENVILLE - The South Central girls' basketball team played like it had been to the Class 3-A Eastern Regional finals before, Westover didn't.
That ended up being the difference in the Wolverines' 67-59 loss Sunday at J.H. Rose High School. The Falcons had too much experience, too many players who wanted to take the next step after three years of regionals heartbreak. While Westover had too many girls exploring new territory after losing in the Class 4-A sectionals last year.
"Throughout the season, Coach (Gene Arrington) was getting on us because we didn't work as hard as we should have," said Shanice Pringle, a Wolverines junior who finished with 13 points and 13 rebounds to earn all-tournament honors. "We're going to do (those things) next year. We're going to come out with a fire next year."
Known for having one of the faster teams in Cumberland County, Arrington said before the game he wanted to avoid getting in a track meet with run-and-gun South Central. The game plan was to play a halfcourt style and feed Pringle inside, but the Wolverines couldn't shed their run-first instincts.
This helped the speedy Falcons get out in transition and build a 22-17 lead after the first quarter. From there, Westover's poor foul shooting allowed them to pull away. The Wolverines went 2 of 11 from the free-throw line - three of those coming on the front ends of one-and-ones - in the second frame to help South Central to a 42-28 halftime lead.
The Wolverines finished 11 of 30 from the foul line for the game.
"You could add all the free throws we missed to our total and we'd probably win the ball game," said Arrington, whose team finished the year at 23-6 after winning the Cape Fear Valley Conference tournament and a share of the regular-season crown. "That's why we say you've got to finish what you're doing. ... We didn't do that, and they deserved to win the game."
Amber Clark capped an MVP performance at the tournament with a game-high 27 points to lead the Falcons. She had 16 before halftime and poured in nine points in the fourth quarter.
Seven of those points in the final frame came from the foul line as Westover tried to rally from a 64-44 deficit with 3:15 remaining. Both teams had two players foul out of the physical contest, and the Wolverines couldn't foul to extend the game with a minute remaining because Chante' Bell and Jasmyn Trawick both had four. That allowed South Central to pass the ball around and run out the clock.
Bell, the county's leading scorer at 16 points per game, poured in a team-high 20 to earn all-tournament honors. Trawick was the only other Westover player in double figures with 11.
These efforts weren't enough with JaNesha Ebron and Danielle Butts supporting Clark with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Both joined her on the all-tournament team, celebrating the breakthrough victory with coach Mary Bryan Carlyle at center court.
"This is a dream come true," said Carlyle, whose team improves to 28-4 overall. "Everyone on the bench was like, "Pinch me, because I think I'm dreaming.' It's really exciting to be there in this position."
Staff writer Paul Shugar can be reached at shugarp@fayobserver.com or 486-3513.