Spring Creek freshman point guard Kiarah Pearson, left, tumbles to the floor after getting fouled by Princeton’s Graci Martin during first-period play Friday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek’s Sarah Kirby, left, drives to the basket past Princeton’s Graci Martin. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Princeton’s Aubrey Johnson (24) attempts to block a shot by Spring Creek’s Natalie Jackson. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek senior Emily Williams fires up a 3-pointer from the corner. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek’s Heather Alexander converts one of her 10 rebounds into a bucket against Princeton. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Spring Creek senior Aaliyah Kornegay, left, scores against a Princeton defender. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
From left, Spring Creek’s Aaliyah Kornegay, Emily Williams and Heather Alexander watch their teammates polish off Princeton. At right is Gators head coach Paul Hayes. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
SEVEN SPRINGS — Spring Creek sprinkled a little bit of history into its senior night conquest of Princeton on the hardwood Friday evening.
Feisty point guard Kiarah Pearson tossed in 20 points for the Gators, who earned a regular-season sweep over a Carolina 1A opponent for the first time since 2017.
Charlie Cotten roamed the sideline as head coach that season. His team swept league rivals James Kenan, Hobbton, North Duplin and Lakewood. The Gators posted 13 wins and advanced to the NC High School Athletic Association playoffs.
Pearson’s tenacity to attack the basket created a well-deserved departure for seniors Emily Williams, Aaliyah Williams and Vanessa Duruttya.
“First, I’m really happy for these seniors to go out and get the win on senior night,” SC head coach Paul Hayes said. “I thought we played well together as a team tonight, had great ball movement and we were getting after it on the defensive end of the floor.”
Princeton tallied the first basket.
Williams and Kornegay sparked an 8-0 run with back-to-back 3-pointers before the Bulldogs responded with eight consecutive points of their own.
Duruttya’s 3-pointer off Williams’ assist put the Gators back ahead 11-10 and they never relinquished the lead. Sarah Kirby picked up a loose ball and scored. Moments later, Kornegay converted an offensive putback.
SC led 15-10.
The teams engaged in a turnover fest over the next few minutes.
Pearson’s aggressiveness helped the Gators enter halftime ahead 23-13. The freshman ball handler continued to attack the rim in the second half as Spring Creek’s ballooned to 28-13.
Princeton climbed to within 28-23, but could get no closer.
The Gators continued to pick the Bulldogs pockets for steals, 27 in all, and converted them into either field goal attempts or trips to the free throw line. SC attempted a season-high 40 shots at the stripe and sank 16.
Kornegay flirted with a triple-double — 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight steals. Williams ended up with four points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Duruttya scratched for three points, three steals and two rebounds.
Kirby snared a career-high 10 rebounds — all on the defensive end. The multi-sport athlete tallied five points and five steals.
Heather Alexander recorded her third consecutive double-digit effort on the glass with 10 caroms. She managed four points. Frontcourt mate Natalie Jackson provided three points and two rebounds.
“We have come a long way this year and I feel like we are starting to play some our best basketball,” Hayes said.
Spring Creek (8-12, 2-5 Neuse Six 2A) concludes regular-season play with a three-game road swing that starts Tuesday at Goldsboro. The Gators will spend Valentine’s Day as North Johnston’s guests and visit Beddingfield on Feb. 16.
