Washington hits 1,000 points in EW victory

By Rob Craig
Published in Sports on February 21, 2007 2:16 PM

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Eastern Wayne senior Yasmine Washington knew she had to take over.

With Brittani Billups in foul trouble all game long, Washington stepped up when it mattered the most to score a game-high 22 points -- including the 1,000th point of her career -- to lead the Warriors to a 65-47 win over West Craven on Tuesday night in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 3-A Playoffs.

"When Brittani got into foul trouble, I think the team got down a little and I took it upon myself to step up," said Washington.

It was after a questionable third foul call on Billups that sent the junior to the bench with 4:44 to play in the second quarter. The homestanding Warriors had built a 20-11 lead, but with Billups on the bench, Eastern Wayne looked lost of offense.

The Warriors committed five straight turnovers and were held scoreless for the next four minutes -- yet West Craven was unable to take advantage due to a stiff Eastern Wayne defense.

The Eagles were held to one point during a 3:46 stretch that prevented them from cutting into the Warrior lead.

"The girls did a good job there playing man-to-man," said Eastern Wayne coach Brent Holland. "When we went to our zone we were in the right areas also. We weren't really concerned with their outside game and that just played into our favor."

Washington then took over and scored seven straight points to take Eastern Wayne into the locker room with a 27-16 lead.

West Craven went right after Billups in the third quarter and quickly drew her fourth foul with 5:58 to go in the period.

The ensuing free throws from Shakirra Morgan kept the Eagles to within striking distance at 31-20.

With Billups again forced to the bench, Washington and her teammates rose to the challenge and put on a dazzling performance.

"When Brittani picked up her fourth foul, the whole lineup that was in there did a great job of moving the ball and Yasmine did a good job of getting open," said Holland.

Back-to-back steals by Zhanea Charles and Tiara McIntyre led to two layups from Eboni Reid. Two minutes later, Washington drilled a short jumper to close a 14-2 run to put the Warriors up 45-22 and score her 1,000th and 1,001st career points.

The game was stopped as Holland presented Washington with the game ball and spoke to the Warrior crowd.

"I'm so happy for Yasmine," said Holland. "I've seen Yasmine grow up since she was a freshman and I'm so proud of her."

Washington didn't realize what she had accomplished until the game was stopped.

"I knew I had to score in double-digits, but I wasn't sure what I needed," said the soft spoken Washington. "It's really exciting. I know coach has been pushing me ever since I was a freshman to become a better player.

"I knew it was going to be hard (to get 1,000) coming into this year, but I just kept my head up, worked hard and it just came to me."

The lead would grow to as big as 32 points in the fourth quarter as the Warrior reserves prevented the crowd from heading to the exits early.

Lindsey Frederick came away with a steal and converted the layup while Sherrelle Burt drained a 3-pointer to send the crowd and their teammates into a frenzy.

"They deserve to play," said Holland of the reserves. "They come every day to practice and bust their behinds. It's so good to see our starters up cheering for the girls at the end and it shows we're a very unselfish team that they pull for their teammates."

For the Warriors, Billups finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds despite the foul trouble while McIntyre chipped in with 11 points.

Eastern Wayne (11-12) travels to Bertie on Thursday night.

"We did good at everything tonight," said Washington. "We came together and played really well as a team."

2007 N.C. High School

Athletic Association Class 3-A

Women's Basketball Playoffs

(at Eastern Wayne HS)

West Craven 9 7 9 22 -- 47

Eastern Wayne 13 14 22 16 -- 65

WEST CRAVEN (7-17)

Keshia Hardy 2 1 6-6 13, Leslie Jones 3 0 7-11 13, Tocarra Jones 3 0 0-1 6, Shakirra Morgan 1 1 0-0 5, Chaquita Jackson 2 0 0-0 4, Alyssia Clark 2 0 0-2 4, Quincia Nobles 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 14 2 13-20 47.

EASTERN WAYNE (11-12)

Yasmine Washington 7 2 2-2 22, Brittani Billups 6 0 2-2 14, Tiara McIntyre 3 1 2-3 11, Danielle Daniels 1 1 0-0 5, Eboni Reid 2 0 0-0 4, Sherrelle Burt 0 1 0-0 3, Zhanea Charles 1 0 0-1 2, Tia Jones 1 0 0-2 2, Lindsey Frederick 1 0 0-0 2. TOTALS -- 22 5 6-10 65.