Grading Out: Southside girls, Pam Pack wrestlers stand out
Published 7:05 pm Monday, January 2, 2017
- Symone Ruffin carries the ball down the court during a game in the South Creek Holiday Tournament. She had a double-double against the Lady Cougars, and did well running the Lady Seahawks’ offense in both games.
Not much was going on around Beaufort County between Christmas and New Year. Southside’s girls basketball team traveled out to South Creek for a two-day tournament. It got to see an impressive Southeast Halifax squad ahead of this week’s 1-A Coastal Plains Conference opener.
The Lady Seahawks excelled. They dominated the hosting Lady Cougars, and handed the Lady Trojans just their third loss of the season. After losing the season opener, Southside has plenty of momentum heading into Wednesday’s trip to Pamlico County.
Washington hosted the Saleeby tournament. It got to some stout competition from the area — including future conference foe West Craven — as its league stretch approaches.
The remainder of Beaufort County’s teams were idle this week. Many focused internally in practice. Problems that arose during various Christmas tournaments were addressed in practice.
Here are the standouts from a quiet week.
SYMONE RUFFIN, SOUTHSIDE
Junior Symone Ruffin excelled facilitating Southside’s offense in back-to-back games this past week. Ruffin notched a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, also adding six steals and five assists in the tournament opener against South Creek.
The only problem the Lady Seahawks experienced in that game was not closing out in the fourth quarter. Ruffin made sure that didn’t happen against a talented Southeast Halifax team in the second day. She opened the fourth quarter by scoring two quick layups to start the period.
DANIELLE RUFFIN, SOUTHSIDE
Junior Danielle Ruffin led the Lady Seahawks with 17 points in their thumping of South Creek on Tuesday. She capitalized on fluid ball movement right away when she scored nine points in a row by herself. Symone Ruffin and Michaela Dixon assisted on her baskets, and she knocked down a 3-pointer.
She was explosive against Southeast Halifax, too. Ruffin went on an 8-0 run on her own at one point against the Lady Trojans. She demonstrated an ability to take over a game on her own, which will prove valuable in conference action.
![D.K. Credle wrestles West Craven’s Jeremiah Murrell. Credle won that match, as well as the other three he competed in in Friday’s tournament.](https://www.thewashingtondailynews.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2017/01/WEBSPORTS_Southside-girls-Pam-Pack-wrestlers-stand-out2.jpg)
D.K. Credle wrestles West Craven’s Jeremiah Murrell. Credle won that match, as well as the other three he competed in in Friday’s tournament.
D.K. CREDLE, WASHINGTON
Washington hosted the Saleeby Tournament on Friday. It came a point shy of knocking off a 4-A powerhouse in Cary. D.K. Credle — of the Pam Pack’s captains and among its best wrestlers — had a lot to do with the exceptional showing.
Credle won all four of the matches he competed in. Arguably his most impressive outing was picking up a pin on Cary’s Marlon Toruno. The Pam Pack actually won more matches than Cary, but the opponent won more via pin.
JACOB SMITH, WASHINGTON
Jacob Smith had five matches in the Saleeby Tournament. He won all five of them to help the Pam Pack finish the day with four wins in five outings. Two of his victories were by forfeit, but he also won twice by pin.
His two pins were important to Washington’s dominance en route to its meeting with Cary. Smith and the Pam Pack handled South Central, North Lenoir and Pasquotank County with ease. West Craven proved to be competitive, and Cary won the first-place match by one point.