Southern Wayne’s Ta’Niyah Glaspie, far right, and teammate Jamaiya Bass show their disappointment from the bench during the final seconds of a 52-47 loss to Fike on Thursday evening. The Saints had their 18-game win streak snapped in Quad County 3A play. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Kyren Strong (5) collides with a Fike player and then goes after the loose ball during opening-half action Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne senior Ta’Niyah Glaspie assists the referee with a traveling call after Fike senior Avery Lentz fell to the floor after grabbing a rebound. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne sophomore Nevaeh Hines-Bass (3) gets her shot partially blocked by Fike’s Mallory Jenkins during second-half action Thursday evening. Jenkins was called for a foul on the play. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Fike’s Mallory Jenkins, right, blocks a shot by Southern Wayne’s Nygeria Thompson during first-quarter action of their Quad County 3A game in Dudley on Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Ta’Niyah Glaspie, a multi-sport athlete, eyes the basket as she attempts a first-quarter free throw on Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Chris McDuffie, right, blocks Fike’s Micah Buck from getting to the basket during first-quarter play Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s DeUntae Wright scores against Fike’s Yamir Dagraca while teammate Eli Boykin follows the play during second-half action Thursday evening. Wright finished with nine points for the Saints, who remained perfect in five Quad County 3A games this season. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Chris Carmon (5) attempts to draw a charge against Fike’s Micah Buck on Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Undoubtedly the county’s best student section, The Halo, shows their Saint pride during opening-game introductions against Fike on Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
The Southern Wayne Marching Saints, the pride of southern Wayne County, provides some post-game music after the varsity boys defeated Fike on Thursday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
As usual, the home side is nearly packed with Southern Wayne fans during Thursday’s game against Quad County 3A rival Fike. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — Ta’Niyah Glaspie covered her face with her jersey and Jamaiya Bass stared the floor. The two seniors, who had fouled out, and their teammates watched from the bench in disbelief.
Stunned Saints fans sat in silence.
Fike rallied from a 10-point, second-half deficit and claimed a 52-47 victory. The Golden Demons halted the Saints’ unbeaten, 18-game win streak in Quad County 3A play and exited with a perfect league worksheet of their own.
“I thought our girls played really good,” SW head coach Ricky Lofton said.
Missed free throws, turnovers, foul trouble and a confidence-gaining Fike team all factored into the outcome.
Southern Wayne led 30-20 with 3 1/2 minutes left in the third period.
The Golden Demons (12-3 overall, 6-0 QCC) started to solve the Saints’ suffocating half-court zone press and chipped away at the Saints’ advantage. Jamaria Freeman’s midcourt steal and uncontested layup tied the game at 37-37 barely two minutes into the final quarter.
The teams traded leads on five occasions over the next three minutes.
Nevaeh Hines-Bass pushed the Saints in front, 47-46, with 73 ticks left on the clock.
The next play proved critical.
Southern Wayne executed a trap, grabbed the loose ball and called timeout.
The referees, instead, awarded the ball to Fike.
“He never said why,” Lofton said. “There’s no use in questioning them because when they make up their mind, it’s going to stay like that. They’re not going to overturn it unless another official comes in and says something different.”
Fike scored the next six points to seal the stunning finale.
“We got in foul trouble, had to take my starters out and bring other girls in, which was a turning point,” Lofton said. “Everybody got thrown into a different role and that threw everything off [offensively]. We made mistakes at crunch time … kinda nervous a little bit.
“Hopefully this loss will make us better.”
The Saints committed 14 turnovers and shot 8 of 17 (47 percent) at the free throw line. They missed six shots in the last period.
Bass logged a double-double — 14 points, 10 rebounds. Glaspie just missed a double-double with nine points, 10 rebounds and three assists. Hines-Bass notched 14 points.
Elaina Lane collected nine steals and three assists. Nygeria Thompson posted eight points, six rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals.
Boys
The Saints keep marching on.
Senior Chris McDuffie led a balanced scoring attack with 13 points to help push Southern Wayne past Fike, 57-46, and remain perfect in five QCC outings this season.
Less than 20 seconds into the game, Dylan Skinner grabbed an offensive rebound and stepped behind the 3-point arc. His shot drained nothing but net, however, it was the Golden Demons’ only lead of the night.
Chris Carmon’s 3-pointer and McDuffie’s one-handed slam spearheaded a 25-6 run that lasted more than 11 minutes.
“That’s what defines great teams,” SW head coach Brian West said. “When a team makes a run in your home building or hits a [big] shot, sometimes we were used to just being comfortable and letting people run us over.
“With this team, they show how to be great during any time of adversity.”
Indeed.
McDuffie’s layup bounced off the rim before dropping through.
O’Shay Faison nailed three, uncontested long-range shots.
Eli Boykin connected twice inside.
The offensive barrage all but took the fight out of the Golden Demons, who suffered their second loss to the Saints (8-6) in their last three meetings.
“Another team that we faced with big bodies and my team executed everything that I asked in the game plan that we had,” West said.
Faison and Boykin provided 12 points apiece. DeUntae Wright tallied nine points, while Carmon finished with six.
Southern Wayne extended its home win streak to four.
The Saints return to action Tuesday at county rival Charles B. Aycock.
