Hunt stops HCHS upset bid

Published 12:59 pm Thursday, January 8, 2009

AHOSKIE – The end of the first quarter was the end of the upset bid.

Hertford County High School’s varsity girls got off to a strong start and led 11-6 midway through the first quarter. Visiting James B. Hunt High School’s team, however, dominated the latter part of the period and used that to spark a 48-33 win Tuesday night.

After Hunt got the first two hoops – one each from Lucinda Sanders and Lynn Madden – Hertford County went on an 11-2 spurt to take a five-point edge.

Raqueta Moore started the run with a three-point play. Also scoring during the spurt were Jaleesa Chinn and Camryn Jones.

With the Lady Bears ahead 11-6, however, Hunt went on a 10-0 run to close the first quarter. Keiana Love – who led all scorers with 12 points – hit the first basket and was followed by two hoops from Erica Arrington. Quilla Parker and Love had the other two baskets that gave the Lady Warriors a 16-11 lead.

The second quarter didn’t get better for Hertford County as the visiting team scored six of the first eight points of the period. The only bucket for the home team came from Briante Bond, but it wasn’t enough to keep Hunt from sprinting to a 24-13 edge.

Hertford County did make a run during the closing part of the quarter, outscoring Hunt 8-1 in the final minutes. Deondra Morrison started the spurt with a hoop. She was followed by baskets from Moore and Larinda Fennell before she scored again to cut the deficit to 25-21 at the intermission.

Hunt tried to pull away over the opening minutes of the third quarter, but Hertford County continued to battle back. The Lady Bears got as close as one (30-29) with 2:01 to play in the quarter, but Hunt scored the final five points of the period to lead 35-29 heading into the final quarter.

Kimbria Pittman hit back-to-back shots to open the fourth period and push the Hunt lead to 10 (39-29).

The Warriors then got a hoop from Parker and free throws from both Pittman and Parker to go ahead 44-29. From there, they were able to coast to a 48-33 victory.

Love led the Lady Warriors with 12 points while Parker had 10. Pittman contributed nine.

Hertford County was paced by Moore with 10 points. Chinn added six and Morrison and Fennell added four each. Bond scored three points. Rounding out the scoring were Olivia Edwards, Danielle Futrell and Jones with two points each.

The Lady Bears (5-6) will be back in Northeastern Coastal Conference action Friday when they travel to Pasquotank County High School.