Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Tigers tame Pack
By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
Washington basketball sped off to a fast start on Tuesday night, but it did not have enough gas to finish the race.
Both the boys and girls’ teams brought leads into the fourth quarter against Williamston, but failed to leave with them. The Tigers girls’ won 71-65 and the boys walked away 62-58 winners in both teams’ season openers.
Tigers’ freshman sharpshooter Katie Paschal’s 41 points guided Williamston to its win. Paschal dissected the Washington defense all game long, breaking it down with dribble penetration and finding open teammates or finishing the play herself.
Paschal scored eight fourth-quarter points, but it was her 4-4 shooting from the free throw line in the final 90 seconds that locked down the Williamston win.
Tigers’ coach Jimmy Elks said he was not surprised by Paschal’s play.
“She has so much experience; she’s played AAU ball and in other leagues,” Elks said. “The thing about her is she is not a selfish player at all. You would think with her scoring 41 points that she was hogging it, but she doesn’t. She really dishes it well; she has a good head for the game and knows when to pass and when not to ... She just loves basketball.”
The Tigers also got strong play from Presley Roberson. The Williamston forward was a force underneath the basket and finished the game with 12 points.
The Pam Pack countered Paschal’s offensive attack with strong inside play. Washington center Samantha Smith dominated the paint with 24 points and easily over 10 rebounds.
Smith, along with Tanisha Boston and Sharita Grice, added grit to the Washington frontcourt and kept the Tigers at bay for most of the game.
The Packs’ post presence opened things up for Washington’s Nicole Hardy, who was deadly from behind the arc. Hardy finished the game with 17 points, most of them coming from three-point land.
Washington’s first-year coach Bobby Andrews said he was pleased with his team’s debut.
“The girls fought hard,” Andrews said. “I can’t ask for any more than that. We had trouble containing Paschal, but I think every team is going to have that trouble ... It’s bad to lose, but I think we got something out of it today.”
Andrews said his frontcourt play was encouraging.
“I thought our board play was good,” Andrews said. “All the girls played well down there. We even had some girls come off the bench and play pretty well for us.”
The Washington boys’ game was played in similar fashion as the girls, except the girls’ team never held a lead bigger than six points, while the boys squandered a double-digit advantage.
After a tight first quarter, the Pam Pack appeared to blow the game open in the second behind strong play from Jamar Moore and Paris Wiggins.
The combo fueled a furious Pam Pack rally, and when Wiggins converted an old fashion three-point-play off a nine foot fade away jumper, Washington took a 24-12 lead, its largest of the game.
Wiggins finished the game with a team-high 15 points, while Moore had nine.
Feeling the game slipping away in the fourth quarter, Williamston coach Steve Gilmore decided to shake things up a bit and went to a full-court press. The pressure worked, holding the Pack to two points in the final two minutes, and allowed the Tigers to take the lead.
“We started going full-court man pressure,” Gilmore said. “We figured we had to change the tempo of the game and start playing our game.”
Jarrett Coffield also starting playing his game in the fourth, scoring 12 of his game-high 16 points in the final quarter. Coffield stuck the dagger in the Pack when he nailed a 3-pointer from the right arc to take a 60-58 lead with 23 seconds left.
Newly appointed Washington coach Joe Lawrence said the Pack failed to keep its cool.
“We started hurrying things too much at the end,” Lawrence said. “When we had a one point lead, we really need another layup or a free throw, but we just got too excited.”
Washington will be back in action on Tuesday at North Pitt, while Williamston will battle Southside.
Boys
Williamston 10 12 14 26 — 62
Washington 13 14 14 17 — 58
Washington (58)
Paris Wiggins 15, Brandon Rogers 10, Cogdell 6, Moore 6, Roberson 4, Cox 4, Moore 9, Godley 2. Daniels 2.
Williamston (62)
Biggs 7, William Harvey 11, Northern 6, Jarrett Coffield 16, Peel 3, Jamel Moore 6, Williams 7, Smith 6.
Girls
Williamston 20 12 18 18 — 71
Washington 18 17 17 13 — 65
Williamston (71)
Katie Paschal 41, Presley Roberson 12, Biggs 7, Northfleet 4, Jones 4, Peele 4.
Washington (65)
Samantha Smith 24, Nicole Hardy 17, Simpkins 2, Boston 4, Grice 3, Stowe 5, Davey Ann Burbage 10.
Both the boys and girls’ teams brought leads into the fourth quarter against Williamston, but failed to leave with them. The Tigers girls’ won 71-65 and the boys walked away 62-58 winners in both teams’ season openers.
Tigers’ freshman sharpshooter Katie Paschal’s 41 points guided Williamston to its win. Paschal dissected the Washington defense all game long, breaking it down with dribble penetration and finding open teammates or finishing the play herself.
Paschal scored eight fourth-quarter points, but it was her 4-4 shooting from the free throw line in the final 90 seconds that locked down the Williamston win.
Tigers’ coach Jimmy Elks said he was not surprised by Paschal’s play.
“She has so much experience; she’s played AAU ball and in other leagues,” Elks said. “The thing about her is she is not a selfish player at all. You would think with her scoring 41 points that she was hogging it, but she doesn’t. She really dishes it well; she has a good head for the game and knows when to pass and when not to ... She just loves basketball.”
The Tigers also got strong play from Presley Roberson. The Williamston forward was a force underneath the basket and finished the game with 12 points.
The Pam Pack countered Paschal’s offensive attack with strong inside play. Washington center Samantha Smith dominated the paint with 24 points and easily over 10 rebounds.
Smith, along with Tanisha Boston and Sharita Grice, added grit to the Washington frontcourt and kept the Tigers at bay for most of the game.
The Packs’ post presence opened things up for Washington’s Nicole Hardy, who was deadly from behind the arc. Hardy finished the game with 17 points, most of them coming from three-point land.
Washington’s first-year coach Bobby Andrews said he was pleased with his team’s debut.
“The girls fought hard,” Andrews said. “I can’t ask for any more than that. We had trouble containing Paschal, but I think every team is going to have that trouble ... It’s bad to lose, but I think we got something out of it today.”
Andrews said his frontcourt play was encouraging.
“I thought our board play was good,” Andrews said. “All the girls played well down there. We even had some girls come off the bench and play pretty well for us.”
The Washington boys’ game was played in similar fashion as the girls, except the girls’ team never held a lead bigger than six points, while the boys squandered a double-digit advantage.
After a tight first quarter, the Pam Pack appeared to blow the game open in the second behind strong play from Jamar Moore and Paris Wiggins.
The combo fueled a furious Pam Pack rally, and when Wiggins converted an old fashion three-point-play off a nine foot fade away jumper, Washington took a 24-12 lead, its largest of the game.
Wiggins finished the game with a team-high 15 points, while Moore had nine.
Feeling the game slipping away in the fourth quarter, Williamston coach Steve Gilmore decided to shake things up a bit and went to a full-court press. The pressure worked, holding the Pack to two points in the final two minutes, and allowed the Tigers to take the lead.
“We started going full-court man pressure,” Gilmore said. “We figured we had to change the tempo of the game and start playing our game.”
Jarrett Coffield also starting playing his game in the fourth, scoring 12 of his game-high 16 points in the final quarter. Coffield stuck the dagger in the Pack when he nailed a 3-pointer from the right arc to take a 60-58 lead with 23 seconds left.
Newly appointed Washington coach Joe Lawrence said the Pack failed to keep its cool.
“We started hurrying things too much at the end,” Lawrence said. “When we had a one point lead, we really need another layup or a free throw, but we just got too excited.”
Washington will be back in action on Tuesday at North Pitt, while Williamston will battle Southside.
Boys
Williamston 10 12 14 26 — 62
Washington 13 14 14 17 — 58
Washington (58)
Paris Wiggins 15, Brandon Rogers 10, Cogdell 6, Moore 6, Roberson 4, Cox 4, Moore 9, Godley 2. Daniels 2.
Williamston (62)
Biggs 7, William Harvey 11, Northern 6, Jarrett Coffield 16, Peel 3, Jamel Moore 6, Williams 7, Smith 6.
Girls
Williamston 20 12 18 18 — 71
Washington 18 17 17 13 — 65
Williamston (71)
Katie Paschal 41, Presley Roberson 12, Biggs 7, Northfleet 4, Jones 4, Peele 4.
Washington (65)
Samantha Smith 24, Nicole Hardy 17, Simpkins 2, Boston 4, Grice 3, Stowe 5, Davey Ann Burbage 10.
 |
||
| Jenkins has 17 points and 10 assists in Pirates win |
