No pressure
Published 9:02 am Tuesday, January 14, 2014
WINDSOR – Still perfect.
Playing in their first home game since winning the Roanoke-Chowan Holiday Classic sponsored by United Country Joe Murray Realty over the Christmas break, Bertie High’s girls basketball team showed no signs of slowing down as they routed Hertford County here Friday night. 52-28.
It was Bertie’s 15th win against no losses this season.
De’najah Porter and Shaunquisha Leary combined for 32 points, 17 and 15, respectively, to pace the Lady Falcons in the win. Keyonta Green just missed double figures with nine.
Kyara Rodgers of Hertford County led all scorers with 20, the only HCHS player with double-figure scoring.
Bertie raises its record to 15-0 and 5-0 in the Northeastern Coastal Conference. HertfordCounty falls to 3-8 and evened their conference record to 2-2.
Porter helped Bertie to a 7-0 lead early in the game then the Lady Falcons went on a 6-0 run after Rodgers had scored a pair of buckets to cut it to 7-4. Leading 13-4 Rodgers broke the string with four more points but the rest of the Lady Bear offense had yet to wake up. Rodgers closed out the first quarter with a three-point basket, but Hertford County still trailed by six, 17-11.
Neither team mounted much offense in the second quarter as Bertie coach Alice Lyons rested her starters and experimented with various rotations. The regulars opened the quarter with a 6-0 run to lead 23-11 but then the scoring drought began. Rodgers nailed a pair of foul shots with a minute-and-a-half left before halftime, but Green got a put-back for Bertie just before the buzzer and the Falcons went to the locker-room ahead, 24-13, with all of the Bear points scored by Rodgers.
Hertford County must’ve found the variety in their game in the locker room at halftime because they came out and outscored Bertie 11-4 to cut their deficit to four points, 28-24 in the first two minutes of the second half. But Lyons got a time out and after some choice words to her team in the huddle, Bertie regained their scoring stroke and went on another run, this one of eight points in a row. It was a 10-2 run all told to the end of the quarter as Rodgers got the Bears’ lone bucket before the horn ending the third.
Playing to her size advantage, Bertie coach Lyons kept up the inside pressure. Hertford County tried attacking the basket, but the ineffectiveness there came when the Bears couldn’t knock down their free throws. They made only two of seven and scored just two points the entire fourth quarter as Bertie finished things off for the 24-point win.
Because of exam week, Bertie is off until Friday when they host First Flight. Hertford County has a pair of home games this week beginning with the Pasquotank game on Monday, followed by Edenton coming to Ahoskie on Friday.
Hertford County (28)
Kyara Rodgers-20; Desiree James-4; Keshonda Roberson-2; Ashonta Basnight-2.
Bertie (52)
De’najah Porter-17; Shaunquisha Leary-15, Keyonta Green-9; Jomiya Earley-6; Tyessence Martin-3; Mattelyn Bond-2.