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By ANDRE ALFRED

Sports Correspondent

WILLIAMSTON – Seeding doesn’t define a team’s heart, it only defines its ranking and home court advantage.

The Martin County Lady Gators had both, the higher seed and home court advantage on Friday, Feb. 28, but neither prevented the 59-42 loss dealt by the 23rd seeded Hertford County Lady Bears in game two of the 2025 Class 2A NCHSAA Women’s Basketball State Tournament.

The win advances Hertford County (13-13 overall) to the Eastern semifinals where they will travel to Pittsboro on Tuesday to meet second-seeded Seaforth High School (26-2 overall).

Of the 16 teams remaining in the Class 2A division (Eastern and Western brackets), Hertford County is the lowest seed remaining.

In last Friday’s game in Williamston, Hertford County senior Jameilya Lewis connected on a “nothing but net” trey ball, giving the Lady Bears a 3-1 advantage in the early going.

The Lady Gators retaliated with a six-point run, with baskets from Isabella Williams, Brianna Williams, and Trinity Congleton. This surge catapulted Martin County to a 7-3 lead.

The Bears, unmoved by the Gators mild offensive trek, pushed the ball down up the court. The ball found its way into the hands of Belle Wadsworth. Wadsworth attacked the rim and was fouled as she made the basket. Wadsworth successfully completed the “and-one” series as the Bears cut the deficit down to one, 7-6.

The Bears were able to take the lead with 5:11 left in the first quarter with deep three-pointer from Janiah Everette. That basket allowed the Bears to regain the lead, 9-7.

While in transition down the court, Martin County’s Ellyonna Thompson found a spot beyond the arc and pulled the trigger. Thompson missed the shot after being fouled by a Bear defender. Unfortunately, Thompson was only able to make two of the three free throws, knotting the game at 9-9.

The Lady Bears were able to outscore the Lady Gators in the last few minutes of the first quarter, ending the frame ahead, 14-11.

The second and third quarter was played a bit out of control by both teams. A plethora of turnovers paired with aggressive defense resulted in both teams spending the majority of both quarters on the charity stripe.

The Lady Bears scored 15 points in the second quarter, which only six of those points came from the field.

The Lady Gators were only able to score a total of seven points in the second quarter. Two of those seven points came from the field.

The third quarter produced slightly better results for the Lady Bears. Hertford County scored 13 points in total, with 10 of those points coming from the field.

On the other hand, the Lady Gators scored a total of 11 points in the third quarter with only two of those points coming from the field. Martin County visited the free-throw line eight times and only managed to make seven out of 16 attempts.

After the long and tedious process of a game being played at the charity stripe at the end of the first half and the whole third quarter, the fourth quarter started with Hertford County holding a comfortable lead over Martin County by a score of 42-29.

The Bear’s confidence was at an all time high as they absorbed energy from large fan base that came to support them in this second-round playoff extravaganza. The Bears were able to bring its aggressive defense under subjection in the fourth quarter, minimizing the Gators visits to the free throw line.

The Bears outscored the Gators 17-13 in the fourth quarter to seal the win and advance to the next round.

Everette led Hertford County with 14 points. Brooklyn White (13) and Karae Alfred (10) also scored in double digits for the Lady Bears.

Martin County was led by Isabella Williams, who scored a game-high 16 points.