Southern Wayne junior point guard Nevaeh Hines-Bass, right, gets fouled by Goldsboro’s Des’Myah Croom on a drive to the basket Tuesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Wilberline Senatus, left, and Goldsboro’s Nashiyah Williams battle for a rebound during first-half play Tuesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Goldsboro’s Aziyah Boyer, with ball, has her path to the basket blocked by Southern Wayne’s Nygeria Thompson, right, and Wilberline Senatus on Tuesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — Youth-ladened Southern Wayne continues to experience “bumps” during its rebuild season on the hardwood.
Discouragement is apparent, too.
Cross-county rival Goldsboro held the Saints without a field goal for 11-plus minutes in the opening half and rolled to a 47-16, non-conference victory Tuesday evening.
“We’re just young … working hard, but it’s just not there,” SW girls’ head basketball coach Ricky Lofton said. “We’re making too many mistakes as a young team. I’ve got three freshmen [on the court] who are frustrated and not used to the type of speed, but they’re hanging in there.
“We’re going to keep fighting, keep getting better.”
Goldsboro harassed Southern Wayne’s Neveah Hines-Bass with either a double or triple team on the perimeter. The defensive strategy forced the junior point guard to pass off to an inexperienced teammate.
Hines-Bass missed her lone field goal attempt in the first period.
She finally scored on a baseline drive that resulted in an old-fashioned, three-point play with 3:39 left before halftime. The basket momentarily halted a 15-0 run by the unbeaten Cougars.
“We just don’t have that second person who can handle the ball after she gives the ball up,” said Lofton, whose team shot 0-for-13 from the floor before Hines-Bass connected.
“We’ve been telling them all year that it’s going to happen. We need to find somebody to step up and give her a little relief. Right now, we’ve haven’t found that person.”
Goldsboro led 18-5 at halftime.
Led by sophomore power forward Aziyah Boyer, the Cougars dominated the second half. They crashed the offensive glass and flourished in the transition game.
Southern Wayne scratched for 11 second-half points – five from Hines-Bass and six from senior center Nygeria Thompson. Thompson and fellow senior Wilberline Senatus pulled down seven rebounds apiece.
Boyer and senior point guard Leila Ingram accounted for half of Goldsboro’s offense. The Cougars (8-0 overall) guard swept the regular-season series for the first time since 2011.
“Can’t take anything away from Goldsboro, they’re really good this year,” Lofton said. “Boyer makes it hard. She can dominate the game defensively and we just don’t have too many mobile-skilled girls. [But] our girls still have good spirit. They know they’re young and they’re still fighting, not giving up on each other.”
The Saints (0-6) entertain Eastern Wayne on Friday.
