Lady Trojans earn first win against Northside

By JUNIOUS SMITH III

Kinston Free Press

 

TRENTON — The kids are growing up fast at Jones Senior and Tuesday culminated in the Trojans’ best outing yet.

Jones Senior closed the game out on a 13-0 run and defeated Northside 35-29, getting its first win of the season and netting Tina Nelson her first as the Trojans’ head coach.

“It’s just a relief for the girls who now see that they can do this,” Nelson said. “It started with Southside and I told them if we can play consistently with good defense we can be successful, and that’s what they did (Tuesday night). It feels awesome.”

The Trojans lost a 19-point lead in a 49-46 defeat to Southside on Jan. 5, but took a 4-0 advantage to start Tuesday’s game on free throws from Raquel Guadarrama and Tanayja Green sandwiched between a Charity Witherspoon drive. Abby Mooring countered for the Panthers with two straight baskets to tie the score, but a pair of Green drives put Jones Senior up 8-4 after one.

Northside went inside more in the second quarter, with Rachel Lang scoring nine points in an 11-1 run to give the Panthers a 6-point advantage. Lang would finish with 11 in the frame and the Panthers would head to the locker room up 17-12.

Witherspoon’s 3-point play and Green’s drive in the first 40 seconds of the third tied the score, but Northside would recover with Brooklyn Hudnell’s 3-pointer that put the Panthers up 22-18 with 4:55 in the third. Jones Senior wouldn’t allow another point in the quarter, getting baskets by Witherspoon and Nyeshia Battle to tie the game at 22, but the Panthers started the fourth on a 7-0 run, ending on a Hudnell free throw with 4:58 to play.

The Trojans defense took over from there, forcing 16 turnovers in the final quarter and holding the Panthers scoreless after their run. On offense, Shaelah King scored all 10 of her points during the 13-0 run, including a free throw with 1:50 to play to give the Trojans a 30-29 lead — their first since early in the second quarter.

King and Green, another one of Jones Senior’s five freshmen, hit all nine of the team’s free throws in the fourth quarter to ice the contest. Green said defense was the biggest key, as the Trojans forced 46 turnovers overall.

For Jones Senior, Green scored 12 points while Lang had 12 of her own for Northside.

 

Brooks, Jones Senior blow out Panthers

By JUNIOUS SMITH III

Kinston Free Press

 

TRENTON — Malik Brooks scored 27 of his game-high 34 in the first half as Jones Senior rolled over, Northside 92-54. The Trojans trailed for just 10 seconds in the contest while winning their third-straight game, all by 19 or more.

Zach Brooks opened the game with a 3-pointer before baskets by Bryson Radcliffe and Braeden Cooper gave Northside its only lead in the contest 2:15 in. About 10 seconds later, Malik Brooks hit a pair of 3-pointers during a personal 8-0 run to establish control for the Trojans. Jones Senior would force 11 turnovers in the first quarter and went up 30-15 heading into the second, highlighted by another Zach Brooks 3-pointer and 3-point plays from Malik Brooks and Janari Hill.

The Panthers wouldn’t get closer than 15 for the remainder of the contest, and Malik Brooks was a big reason why. He scored 13 in the second — including a trio of shots from beyond the arc — to nearly outscore Northside by himself in the first half, as Jones Senior took a 53-27 lead into halftime.

Jones Senior continued to dominate after the break, extending the lead to as much as 43 and forcing a running clock with 5:28 to play.

Zach Brooks scored 20 points and Hill added 15 for Jones Senior. For Northside, Johnathan Clark led the way with 10 points.