LASKER – You could just call it the Melissa Jenkins Shootout.

That’s practically what the Greater Lasker Shootout became last weekend on the girls side of the bracket as the senior guard poured in 15 and 18 points in two games to lead Northeast Academy to a spotless 2-0 record.

Jenkins offense, coupled with a solid defensive performance spearheaded by sophomore Lyndal Brown, was enough to lead the Lady Eagles to victories over Brunswick Academy and Southampton Academy.

&uot;We used the triangle and two both nights and the girls played it well,&uot; veteran skipper Joella Brown said. &uot;They covered the floor well with it.&uot;

The coach said she spotted a little difference in her team last week heading into the tournament.

&uot;During practice, I saw a slight turn up and I think it carried over,&uot; she said. &uot;I think we’re playing a bit better. It was good to see different people step up and score.&uot;

Host team blows by Southampton

The Lady Eagles used a strong second quarter to outdistance Southampton 48-32 in Saturday night’s action at the Shootout.

With her team trailing 15-14 just two minutes into the second quarter, Northeast Academy senior Shannon Jenkins buried a pair of free throws to push the Lady Eagles into the lead for good.

L. Brown and M. Jenkins each buried a hoop before S. Jenkins hit another bucket with 1:45 to play that pushed the Northeast advantage to seven (22-15).

L. Brown and M. Jenkins each hit a pair of free throws before the end of the first half answered only by a Sara Felts shot from the charity stripe to give the Lady Eagles a 26-16 advantage at the half.

After M. Jenkins started the second half with a bucket to put Northeast up by a dozen, Jenna Edwards hit back-to-back hoops to cut the margin to less than double figures.

NEA sophomore Rebecca Harrell stopped the run with an old-fashioned three-point play, hitting a hoop and adding a free throw, before M. Jenkins dropped in another deuce.

Edwards hit a hoop and a free throw for the Lady Raiders to cut the margin to 10, but a 6-0 run to end the quarter gave Northeast a 39-23 margin.

S. Jenkins, M. Jenkins and Laura Boone each buried a field goal for the Lady Eagles during the spurt.

Lauren Bradshaw hit a bucket to open the fourth for Southampton, but M. Jenkins delivered a free throw and field goal in less than a minute’s time before S. Jenkins and Meredith Harrell dropped in back-to-back hoops to give Northeast a 46-25 advantage.

Southampton answered with hoops from Anna Schafer and Brittany Fetheroff and a trey from Megan Hopkins against only an S. Jenkins hoop to close out the contest.

In the first quarter, it was Hopkins who started strong, dropping in a deuce and a trifecta to start the contest.

M. Jenkins got NEA on the board with a hoop at the 6:30 mark, but Felts answered with a hoop for the Lady Raiders.

A trey by S. Jenkins followed by a three-point play from M. Jenkins pushed they Lady Eagles out front 8-7.

The advantage stayed at one (12-11) at the end of the quarter after Edwards hit a hoop to close the gap for Southampton.

Lady Eagles (48)

Melissa Jenkins – 18, Shannon Jenkins – 14, L. Brown – 6, M. Harrell – 4, R. Harrell – 3, L. Boone – 2, H. Flythe – 1

Lady Raiders (32)

Jenna Edwards – 12, M. Hopkins – 9, S. Felts – 5, L. Bradshaw – 2, A. Schafer – 2, B. Fetheroff – 2

Triangle leads way for Northeast

If you give Joella Brown a week to prepare, some would say she would give the University of Connecticut a run for their money.

Just over two weeks after getting beat at Brunswick Academy, Brown had her Lady Eagles ready for the rematch.

She employed a solid triangle-and-two defense and used her entire team as they rolled by the Lady Vikings 52-33.

Northeast wasted no time jumping on the visiting team, seizing a 13-3 lead by the end of the first quarter.

M. Jenkins, who led all scorers with 15 points, got the Lady Eagles out of the gate with a hoop at the 7:23 mark of the first period before adding a pair of free throws two minutes later to give Northeast a 4-1 edge.

The only scoring from the Lady Vikings during the first period came from the charity stripe as April Grizzard hit 3-of-4 from the line. Her second trip to the free throw line cut the Northeast lead to 4-3.

Hillary Flythe ignited an 11-0 run that spanned seven minutes of the first and second quarters when she hit a pair of free throws at the 4:59 mark of the first.

Boone then added 3-of-4 from the line to push Northeast to a 9-3 advantage just before a pair of hoops from M. Harrell gave the Lady Eagles a 13-3 edge after one period.

S. Jenkins kept the Northeast drive going when she opened the second quarter with a bucket to push the NEA lead to an even dozen (15-3).

Kelly Finch finally hit the first field goal for Brunswick at the 5:47 mark of the second quarter, but it was little more than a temporary delay in the Northeast run as the Lady Eagles went on a 10-2 spurt sparked by a trio of hoops from S. Jenkins and one from L. Brown to push the Northeast advantage to 25-7.

NEA continued to press their advantage in the third quarter when M. Jenkins hit four consecutive hoops for the Lady Eagles to push her team’s lead to 35-12.

From there, the teams added eight each to close out the quarter with Northeast leading 43-20.

Brunswick used a 10-0 run in the fourth frame to get within 14 (44-30), but they were able to get no closer as the Lady Eagles hit their free throws late to maintain control of the game.

Lady Eagles (52)

Melissa Jenkins – 15, Shannon Jenkins – 11, Laura Boone – 10, H. Flythe – 6, M. Harrell – 5, R. Harrell – 3, L. Brown – 2

Lady Vikings (33)

Brooke Clary – 14, Julie Owen – 12, J. Baird – 3, K. Finch – 3, M. Horne – 1

(Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald Sports Correspondent Heather Lifsey contributed to this story.)