WINDSOR – The Bertie High girl’s basketball team won their first home game of the new year Friday night, a 76-32 romp over the Lady Aces of Edenton Holmes.

Montreshia Perry led the Lady Falcons’ scoring with 21 points, 12 in the second half. Ayanna Wilson added 17 points while YaShonti Bridgers finished with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds.

A bit surprising that coach Alice Lyons played her starters for so long, especially in the fourth quarter of a 40-plus point win – and their tenth win by 20 points or more – but the ever-perceptive Lyons says her team still has some things they need to work out.

“This wasn’t a beat-down,” said Lyon afterward, “it was a workout.

“There’re still some things we need to work on,” she added, “to make sure we get it right for the next game.”

Defensively, everything seemed to work right for Bertie in the first quarter as they sprinted out to a 20-2 lead with strong rebounding and pressure defense that forced numerous Edenton turnovers that they quickly converted to fast-break layups. Bridgers was devastating in the low post with six points to lead the early scoring.

Lyons liberally substituted in the second quarter with much the same result as Edenton finished the first half shooting less than 30 percent from the floor (4-of-13) against the taller Lady Falcons. Bertie finished the quarter and headed to the locker room ahead by 27 points, 37-10.

None of the five starters were on the floor at the same time for more than two minutes in the third quarter as Edenton took advantage of the Lady Falcon subs and made it much more competitive.

The Lady Aces were outscored by Bertie by two for the entire eight minutes, 14-12, but still trailed, 51-22, with one quarter still left to play.

The fourth quarter pretty much resembled the second, as Bertie outscored their opponent, 25-10, with Edenton pretty much having trouble just holding onto the ball and Bertie firing almost at will.

Among the reserves, Tenethia Cherry finished the quarter with six points and the Falcons coasted to the 44-point win.

“Up and down, up and down,” said Lyons. “Whatever team they’re playing they want to play to their level.

“We still have to play ‘Bertie basketball’,” she added, “and by doing this I’m trying to break them of that.”

“When you’ve got a young group like I’ve got”, said Aces coach Fred White, “after losing all five starters from last year it’s going to be a struggle. For one minute we knew how to play basketball and for the next four, we didn’t know how to play basketball.

“It’s just going to take a while,” he added. “Bertie’s got a good ball club that’s got right much experience and Alice does a good job with them.”

Bertie (12-3, 4-1, NCC) has now won five in a row and are off until Friday when they travel to Ahoskie to meet Hertford County. It’s their first meeting since the Falcons defeated the Lady Bears last month in the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald Holiday Classic sponsored by United Country Joe Murray Realty.

Their next home game is January 26 against Northeastern High School.