Southside upsets No. 3 ranked Northampton County

The Seahawks are certainly the story of the Mideast portion of the 1A state tournament thus far, knocking off No. 3 ranked Northampton in the first round, 80-69.

With 1-A Conference 11 boasting some of the area’s top teams, head coach Sean White’s Seahawks were more than prepared to take on the Jaguars, who hailed from a much weaker conference (1-A Conference 9).

Southside established its presence in the first eight minutes, owning the transition game and outscoring their opponent 27-10 in the first quarter. The scoring tandem of juniors Donshae Miller and Isaiah Moore continued to preserve the Seahawks’ lead with high-percentage shooting.

Northampton fought back in the second quarter, but was unable to shut down Miller.

Moore finished with 20 points, while Miller ended with a game-high 26. Rashuan Moore also chalked up 12 points.

Southside will face No. 6 ranked Pamlico County in Bayboro tonight in the second round.

No. 11 ranked Bunn ends Washington’s season in round one

After a coin flip secured the Washington girls basketball team a No. 22 seed in the Class 2-A state tournament, the Pam Pack could not fend off Bunn in the first round, losing decisively, 78-40.

Head coach Allison Jones stressed the need to find an offensive rhythm after Friday’s 67-60 loss to Farmville Central. On Monday, the Pam Pack strung together just 23 first-half points, and could not stop Bunn junior Tainasha Vines.

The second half was more of the same with the Pam Pack scoring a miserly 17 points, including just three in the third quarter. Sheema Blount led the way for Washington with 23 points to close out her senior campaign.

For the Wildcats, Vines finished with a game-high 29 points, while sophomore Precious Walker ended with 16.

No. 11 ranked Bunn will move on and play No. 6 ranked Kinston in the second round of the 2A girls state tournament.

No. 16 ranked Seahawks blown out by undefeated Riverside

Being one of the last teams to qualify for the Class 1-A girls state tournament, head coach Bill Lake’s Seahawks were forced to match up against the top team in the class, undefeated Riverside. Southside stood little chance against the Knights’ dynamic offense, losing 86-38.

Riverside came into Monday averaging about 80 points per game in the team’s last 10 outings, while Southside had dropped three of its last five games.

Head coach Kirby Maness’ speedy guards and tight zone defense crippled Lake’s customary fast-paced offense. Freshman Kayla Jones, the Knights’ leading scorer this season, was consistent throughout the game, finishing with a game-high 24 points. Takwana Bland also ended with 16 points.

For Southside, Rosiland Clark led her team with 12 points.

Riverside will host No. 8 seed Northampton tonight in the second round.