Published: 12:00 AM, Wed Feb 15, 2012
South View will face Pine Forest in Mid-South 4-A girls' final
By Earl Vaughan Jr.
Scholastic sports editor
HOPE MILLS - A mild upset and business as usual best describe the results of the semifinal round of the Mid-South 4-A Conference girls' basketball tournament at South View on Tuesday.
In the upset, No. 3 seed Pine Forest edged No. 2 seed Seventy-First 62-58.
Meanwhile, unbeaten South View ran its record to 24-0 as it downed fourth-seeded E.E. Smith 53-35.
South View and Pine Forest will meet for the tournament title Thursday at South View at 7 p.m.
E.E. Smith and Seventy-First still will advance to next week's sectional tournament because both finished in the top four in the regular season standings.
South View cruises
South View scored the first 13 points in its game with E.E. Smith and never looked back, riding a 21-point effort by Sidney Cook.
There were a few bumps in the road for the Tigers as they piled up some early fouls, but coach Brent Barker said that's just part of the challenge of trying to stay unbeaten.
"I've told the girls we need to adjust to whatever is being called out there,'' he said. "If we don't, we're going to be in serious trouble.''
The Tigers were never in serious trouble Tuesday, but Barker gave Smith credit for continuing to play hard the whole game. "I'll have to watch the tape to find out if we backed off on defense, but we certainly weren't as efficient on offense,'' he said.
Cook felt the Tigers got away from playing team ball at one point.
"I feel I could be doing a lot better,'' Cook said. "I didn't crash the boards very hard in the second half of the game. I need to pass a little better, be more team oriented.
"After Christmas break I felt like we started playing really good team ball. That's what we do best, and defense.''
Cook was the only South View player in double figures Tuesday.
Amber Whitaker and Qualinic Barksdale led Smith with 10 points apiece.
Pine Forest survives
Pine Forest has had more than one close call with Seventy-First this season, so Trojan coach Ben Jones wasn't surprised to add another one to the list.
"Tonight was big, confidence-wise, seeing the girls overcome that obstacle and be competitive,'' Jones said.
The Trojans got a big confidence boost at the free-throw line, making 25 of 36 attempts.
There was one key stretch at the end of the third period when the Trojans only led 39-37.
Mynia Hughes hit a layup and made 3 of 4 free throws during that run, sparking Pine Forest to a 48-39 lead by the quarter's end.
That cushion would carry them the rest of the way as they held off repeated Seventy-First comeback attempts.
"Mynia had a great game tonight,'' Jones said. "She played some quality minutes off the bench. She had a good third quarter - seemed like we couldn't miss.''
"I look over the front of the rim, trying to get that swish every time,'' Hughes said. "We played some really good defense when they tried to cut to the basket. We had good help-side most of the time.''
Hughes thinks Pine Forest can beat the Tigers on Thursday. "All we have to do is keep playing like we've been playing and keep Sidney Cook off the glass,'' she said. "Defense and rebounding are going to be the keys to beating them.''
Monet Turnispeed and Shirlee Evans led Pine Forest with 16 and 12 points, respectively. Marcianna Munn had 17 for Seventy-First, while Ashley McCray scored 15.
South View 53, E.E. Smith 35
E.E. SMITH - Amber Whitaker 10, Hardy 6, Qualinic Barksdale 10, Frith 1, Williams, Warren, McMillion 4, McNeil 4
SOUTH VIEW - J. Brown 8, Ky. Lankford, T. Brown, Morris 9, Ka. Lankford 3, Williams 3, Sidney Cook 21, Scott, Gorrell, Bell 9
Fouled out: None
Technical fouls: None
3-point goals: EES - Whitaker 2. SV - J. Brown 2, Williams.
Records: E.E. Smith 11-10, South View 24-0.
Pine Forest 62, Seventy-First 58
PINE FOREST - L. Evans 7, May 7, Frazier 8, Shirlee Evans 12, Holliday 4, Monet Turnispeed 16, Hughes 8
SEVENTY-FIRST - Quintero 3, Marcianna Munn 17, Ashley McCray 15, Bradley 8, Davis 2, Foster 5, Ross 8
Fouled out: PF - Turnispeed
Technical fouls: None
3-point goals: PF - Turnispeed 3. SF - Munn, McCray 5.
Records: Pine Forest 17-6, Seventy-First 18-7