Southern Wayne senior Ta’Niyah Glaspie attempts a shot against East Wake defenders Kelsea McNair, left, and Amanda Pulley, front, during third-period play Wednesday evening. Glaspie finished with a double-double as the Saints held on for a six-point win. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Nygeria Thompson, right, and East Wake’s Simone Brown chase a loose ball out of bounds underneath the Saints’ basket Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne sophomore point guard Nevaeh Hines-Bass, middle, gets hemmed in by East Wake’s Kelsea McNair, left, and C’enayia Pope-Edwards, back, on Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne junior Eli Boykin attempts to stop East Wake’s Tamari Rowland from passing the ball off to a teammate Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Chris Carmon glides toward the basket against East Wake defenders Tamari Rowland (10) and Tre Jones (3) on Wednesday evening. Carmon made the shot and got fouled on the play. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s D’Untae Wright, 33, draws a charge against East Wake during first-half play Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Eli Boykin (23) and a teammate attempt to block a shot by East Wake’s Jordan Sherins on Wednesday evening. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
Southern Wayne’s Jylon Council (10) and an East Wake player look toward the referee after colliding on the baseline Wednesday evening. The referee called ‘traveling’ and awarded the ball to the Saints. (Rudy Coggins|mountolivetribune.com)
DUDLEY — Had there been another half of basketball to play, Southern Wayne’s girls might have experienced a monumental upset Wednesday evening.
Enter Ta’Niyah Glaspie. The senior pulled down 15 rebounds and tallied 12 points in the Saints’ 43-37 triumph over much-improved East Wake. Southern Wayne (12-4 overall) enters second-half Quad County 3A play tied atop the league standings with Fike at 6-1.
“Thank the Lord,” Saints head coach Ricky Lofton said. “If we had to play a whole game, we’d have gotten drubbed. I’ll be honest with you, our kids were not focused at all [and] didn’t come to play.”
School administrators suspended the previous meeting at halftime Dec. 13 due to an on-campus incident that caused authorities to quietly lock down the gym.
Southern Wayne led 23-7.
When play resumed, East Wake ramped up its physical play.
The Saints could never establish an offensive rhythm and nearly saw their advantage disappear.
“East Wake came out and brought it to us,” Lofton said.
Up by 14 after three quarters, SW sophomore Nevaeh Hines-Bass opened the fourth with a 3-pointer. Ahead 36-19 after an exchange of baskets, Lofton watched the confident Warriors (6-10, 5-2) warm up offensively.
Already plagued by turnovers and missed free throws, the Saints’ anxiety increased when a trio of shooters found the mark from beyond the arc. Allye Woodruff, Amanda Pulley and C’enayia Pope-Edwards combined to drain four 3-pointers, which enabled East Wake to climb within 41-37.
A mere 33.5 seconds, what seemed like an eternity to Lofton, remained on the clock.
Glaspie drew a foul and converted two free throws.
The Warriors misfired on their final possession.
Glaspie rebounded the ball and time expired. The multi-sport athlete doled out five assists and blocked two shots in addition to her fourth double-double of the season.
Hines-Bass provided 12 points, five assists and three steals. Nygeria Hamilton collected 12 rebounds.
“Everybody is trying to get [us] back from last year,” Lofton said of the physicality his team has faced from QCC opposition. “When you’re at the top, everybody is coming at you. They’re bringing their ‘A’ game.
“Our girls have got to step up.”
Boys
The Saints woke up too late.
East Wake raced to an early 12-point lead, weathered a fourth-quarter rally and departed unbeaten in QCC action with a 44-37 win.
Down by 15 with six minutes left in regulation, Eli Boykin started Southern Wayne’s comeback attempt. The 6-foot-3 junior converted an old-fashioned, three-point off an offensive rebound.
Tyquavious Williams canned a free throw.
Back-to-back offensive putbacks from Boykin and transfer Dujuan Armwood closed the gap to 42-35 with 61 seconds to go. After a Warrior turnover, the Saints returned the favor on an inbounds pass underneath their own basket.
Ben Fox sealed the visitors’ road win with two free throws.
“They fought, battled,” SW head coach Brian West said. “We played great defense in the second half. Our defensive intensity grew and that’s what changed the game.”
Boykin emerged as the lone Saint in double figures with 13 points. Chris McDuffie supplied eight points, while Williams provided seven points. Armwood ended the night with six points.
Southern Wayne entered the week unbeaten on the QCC scene. The Saints (8-7, 5-2) launch second-half play Friday at East Wake. The Warriors (10-6) have won 19 of 21 conference outings.
“When you’re trying to be a number one team, you’ve got to go hunt the number one team,” West said. “I told them to go hunt, let them know you’re for real [and] that Southern Wayne basketball is no longer a fluke.”
