AHOSKIE – They are next door neighbors who rarely see one another.

Bertie High School met Plymouth High School from neighboring Washington County Wednesday night in the opening round of the News-Herald Holiday Classic sponsored by United Country Joe Murray Realty.

The Lady Falcons rallied in the second half to knock off Plymouth in a game played at Hertford County High School, the site of the annual tournament.

Chaquasja Veale led the Lady Falcons with 17 points and Shaunquisha Leary added 16. Desiree Chesson paced Plymouth with 15 points.

The Lady Vikings opened the game on a tear, scoring the first seven points on hoops by Chesson and Janazia Dixon and a triple by Shaquisia Cooper.

Veale sparked an 8-2 Bertie run with a triple and a deuce followed by a hoop from Zhiasia Bazemore as the Falcons got within 9-8.

Chesson, however, rolled off four unanswered and helped the Lady Vikes claim a 15-12 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

La’Shaie Richardson erased the deficit by herself with a three-point play to open the second period and the teams battled back-and-forth with neither able to hold more than a one-point edge until Richardson hit from behind the arc late in the quarter and gave the Falcons a 22-20 lead.

Plymouth responded, however, by getting six unanswered points – four of which came from Kristy Gibson – as they grabbed a 26-22 lead heading into halftime.

The Lady Vikings added to their lead early in the third quarter, starting the period on a 7-5 run that put them ahead 33-27.

Bertie, however, hit its stride midway through the quarter and went on a 10-0 tear that gave them the lead for good. Leary started the spurt with a hoop that was followed by a pair of free throws from Veale.

Danajah Brown and Veale then hit consecutive three-pointers as the Lady Falcons moved in front 37-33.

The Lady Falcons outscored Plymouth 5-2 down the stretch and led 43-38 heading into the final quarter.

Brown extended Bertie’s advantage to nine when she hit the first two buckets of the quarter, but Plymouth came back thanks to a pair of hoops by Ebony Barrow and got within four (47-43).

The Vikings got that close again twice, the last time at 53-49, but the Lady Falcons answered each time and claimed the victory.

The win moved Bertie to 8-1 for the season and sent them to Saturday’s championship game of the event.