Eastern Wayne's girls must bounce back

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on January 3, 2014 1:47 PM

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ANDREW STEVENS

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Eastern Wayne suddenly finds itself in unfamiliar territory.

Following its loss to Southern Vance in the championship game of the inaugural Southern Bank/Mount Olive Pickle Winter Classic, the Warriors must turn the page.

Experience they gained on the big stage last season was absent at critical moments against Southern Vance. Despite having multiple players back from their eastern regional semifinal team, the Warriors (6-1) committed costly turnovers on three consecutive possessions late in regulation.

Eastern Wayne managed to tie the game and force overtime.

The Warriors missed co-leading scorer Tianna Christopher, who fouled out, late in regulation. Eastern Wayne lacked an offensive rhythm and was outscored 7-0 during the final two minutes of the game

Christopher's absence as the Warriors' best shooter was felt on the game's final possession. Jasmine Covington's potential game-tying 3-pointer was off the mark.

Eastern Wayne struggled for four quarters to find an answer for Southern Vance point guard Breona Jones. Jones consistently beat defenders off the dribble to the basket or passed off to open teammates.

Jones played a large role in the Raiders' ability to cut a six-point, third-quarter deficit to within a point on five different occasions in the fourth quarter. One of five seniors in Southern Vance's starting lineup, Jones scored 32 points during the two-day tournament and earned Most Valuable Player honors.

"(Jones) was great," Warriors' senior Apriann Sutton said. "She's a great player. She was able to spread the floor and get to the rack."

The Warriors return to action today at Kinston, and continue Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference play at J.H. Rose on Jan. 7. Eastern Wayne is 3-0 against ECC opposition this season.

"We played some good teams in this tournament and we have to learn from this," Sutton said. "Southern Vance is a good team and they came to play."