The Vikings jumped out to a 31-26 halftime lead, but watched the Panthers take a one-point lead by the end of the third period on the way to the win. The West Sectional 4 game was played in Monroe at Piedmont, the third seed out of the South Piedmont Conference.
“In the first half, we took care of the ball, made great passes and got good looks at the basket,” Viking coach Matt Hrbek said. “In the third quarter we had turnovers and our defense let down a little bit. They hit their shots and we missed ours in the second half.”
Sophomore Lisa Jackson led the Vikings with 24 points, while senior Shana Brooks chipped in with 12 points.
For Brooks and fellow seniors Nina Oxendine, Jessica Bowe, Erin Hoffman and Shannon Cummings, it was the last game of their Viking careers.
“They (the seniors) did a great job this season,” Hrbek said. “They always played hard. They were a good group of girls to coach.”
Union Pines moved up from 2-A to the 3-A classification this season, and played in what could be called the toughest 3-A conference in the state. Coming off three years of not losing a regular-season game, the Vikings ended this season with a 15-11 record and a fourth-place finish in the Tri-County Conference.
The conference includes High Point Central, which was ranked the top team in the 3-A level for most of the season, and Southeast Guilford, another top-10 team. Hrbek saw this first season on the next level as a growing one for the Vikings.
“Overall, everybody had a great year,” he said. “We’ve had a successful season. We’ve seen what’s out there – we’ve probably seen the best the 3-A level has to offer – and it was a learning situation, both for the team and me. Now we know what we have to do to get better.”
Union Pines 12 19 8 10 — 49
Piedmont 16 10 14 16 — 56
Union Pines — Jackson 9 6-10 24, Brooks 6 0-0 12, Belk 3 0-0 6, Oxendine 1 0-0 3, Jones 1 0-0 2, Bowe 1 0-0 2, Fields 0 0-0 0. Totals – 21 6-10 49.
Piedmont — Gillis 2 4-7 8, Balicon 6 0-0 12, Greene 3 2-2 10, Price 2 4-5 10, Vanderhorst 2 2-2 6, Helms 1 0-0 2, Ervin 4 1-2 9. Totals – 20 13-18 56.
Three-point goals: Union Pines 1 (Oxendine); Piedmont 4 (Greene 2, Price 2).
