The Vikings improved to 4-1 by defeating the Patriots for the second time this season. They were led by the inside duo of Tiffany Oxendine and Carly Shiflett that scored 16 and 12 points, respectively. Leondra Smith helped rally the Patriots, now 2-3, by scoring 13 of her 19 points in the second half.
Three players fouled out in the long game that produced a combined total of 66 free-throw attempts by the two teams.
Nothing happened in the first half to suggest the Patriots had found an answer to stopping the inside game of the Vikings that chewed them up in The Pilot Cup tournament final 10 days ago. Nor was there any hint that a second-half rally might be in the cards after they made only one field goal in the second quarter.
The third period began with Smith taking a pass from Sara Cole and draining a three-pointer. After a Viking bucket, the Pats’ Satara Cain converted a pair of free throws. Then Smith stole the inbounds pass twice in a row, scoring once and passing to Monique Jones, who was fouled, on the other. She went one for two at the line, cutting the Viking lead to 33-26.
The Patriots were creating problems by leaving the Viking who was throwing ball in after a basket unguarded, creating congestion in the backcourt. Cain converted another steal and Jones canned two more free throws, making it 33-30.
“We let them back in the game,” Oxendine said afterwards. “I don’t think our heads were into it as much in the second half as they were in the first half. I guess we got overconfident.”
Courtney Sauer found Shiflett open inside for a basket to break the Patriot run. As the third quarter was coming to a close, Lindsay Cameron fed Shiflett for a three-point play and then converted a pair of free throws for a 40-33 lead going into the final quarter.
“They have quick guards,” Cameron said,” and they were trying to rush us into playing their game. We just needed to slow it down to our tempo.”
But the Pats weren’t through. After Cain hit a jumper, Smith stole the inbounds pass again and scored. Then she turned a steal by teammate Portia Brown into another basket. She made one of two at the line after a Cain steal, tying the game at 40-40 with six minutes left in the game.
Sauer, one of eight members of the Vikings that have played summer basketball together for a number of years, says that she can feel the chemistry when certain combinations of teammates are on the court.
“We were getting a little bit flustered,” she said. “We knew we had to break the pressure. It’s really great to play in a rivalry game like this.”
They began a decisive 9-3 run by getting the ball inside to Shiflett for two. Moments later a jumper by Shamecca Mosley and a baseline drive by Kiki Fairley put the Vikes in front 47-41. Four of six at the foul line by Mosley down the stretch helped lock it up.
It was a poor shooting night for the Patriots. They made 14 of 52 field goals attempts (27 percent) and just half of their 34 free throws. The Vikings were 18 of 38 from the field (47 percent) and 17 of 32 from the line (53 percent).
“The girls competed well,” a happy Viking coach Henry Douglas said. “They got a little rattled for a while, but in the end they came through. I think that’s a sign we have the makings of a pretty good basketball team.”
The Vikings entertain Northwood at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, while the Patriots are idle until they open conference play at home against Scotland County on Friday.
Pinecrest 11 7 15 14 — 47
Union Pines 14 17 9 13 — 53
Pinecrest — L. Smith 8 1-2 19, Jones 1 5-10 7, Cole 1 4-7 6, Cain 3 4-8 10, Sealy 1 1-2 3, Saunders 0 0-0 0, Brown 0 0-0 0, Humphrey 0 0-0 0, E. Smith 0 0-0 0, Leach 0 2-2 2, Dixon 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 17-34 47.
Union Pines — Sauer 1 1-5 3, Mosley 2 4-7 7, Fairly 3 0-0 6, Oxendine 5 6-9 16, Shiflett 5 2-4 12, Cameron 1 3-4 5, Peterson 0 0-1 0, Walker 1 1-2 3, Dowdy 0 0-0 0, Lucas 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 17-32 53.
Three-point goals: Pinecrest 2 (L Smith 2); Union Pines 0.
