By By BRIAN HAINES, Sports Writer
By BRIAN HAINES
Sports Writer
GREENVILLE — The Seahawks used a team effort to navigate their way past Cape Hatteras and star forward Paxton Gwin to win the first annual Thompson Global Holiday Invitational Tournament title game 59-43 Tuesday at Oakwood High School.
Southside (8-1) featured nine players in the scoring column, while the versatile Gwin netted over half her team’s points by scoring a game-high 26.
Tournament MVP Katisha Hyman racked up a team-high 20 points, while Tamisha Cradle added 11 and all-tournament team selection Chante Painter chipped in nine.
Seahawks’ coach Bill Lake said that participating in, and winning the tournament was a good way for his team to stay sharp during the holidays.
“It was a real big boost for us,” Lake said. “It is very helpful in keeping our team focused so that we don’t miss a beat come January.”
Someone who has managed to maintain a good rhythm all season is Hyman, who scored 55 points in the two-game tourney. “Katisha has really broken loose and found herself,” Lake said. “She has really been progressing and has become extremely fun to watch play.”
Cape Hatteras hung with Southside through four quarters thanks to the play of all-tournament selection Gwin, whose smooth dribbling and jump shots were a constant thorn in the Seahawks’ side.
Lake said he was able to slow her down a bit with some second-half adjustments.
“We decided to put smaller players on her who were a little quicker,” Lake said. “We played both Quanika Thomas and Valerie Ruffin on her and they did a nice job.”
The Hurricanes, who trailed a majority of the game, cut Southside’s lead to four at one point in the second half, but never got over the hump thanks to a quality defensive effort from the Seahawks.
Southside will be back in action on Tuesday when it plays at Plymouth