No. 2 Seaforth cruised past No. 23 Hertford County 74-31 Tuesday night and will make its third straight trip to the fourth round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2A East playoffs.
The Hawks will host No. 3 East Duplin Friday night at 6 p.m. for a chance to make their third straight regional final appearance.
Here’s how the rest of the first three rounds went for Chatham County’s girls’ basketball teams:
1A
No. 9 Chatham Central’s late fourth quarter comeback fell short in a 56-53 second round loss to No. 8 Bear Grass Charter Friday.
The Bears, who beat Bear Grass in the same round last season, trailed by as much as 11 in the fourth quarter, but their rally didn’t start until they were behind 10 with just over a minute left to play.
Senior guard Chloe Scott got the comeback started with a corner three to bring the deficit to seven. Bear Grass Charter sank two free throws to go back up nine, but after a made free throw by Chatham Central sophomore Lizzy Murray, Scott earned herself two trips to the free throw line in the final minute.
Scott knocked down four free throws, including two after a foul on a put back attempt and two after an unforced turnover on a Bear Grass inbound led to Scott driving for a foul, to put the Bears down 54-50 with 18 seconds remaining. Following two foul shot misses from Bear Grass, sophomore guard Addison Overman found Scott in the corner, and she hit another three to bring Chatham Central within one point.
Sophomore Belle Douglass stole the ensuing inbound pass after a deflection by freshman Addison Goldston, but Douglass accidentally knocked the ball out of bounds. On its final chance to get the ball in and seal the win, Bear Grass got the ball down the court to Aubery Dotson who put in the final layup as time expired.
Prior to the second round, Chatham Central beat No. 24 Southside 69-34 in the first round for the second straight year. The Bears outscored the Seahawks 34-12 in the second half.
Bear Grass eliminated No. 25 Chatham Charter in the first round 76-43. Dotson scored a season-high 30 points on the Knights while shooting 58% from the floor.
No. 31 Woods Charter fell to No. 2 Wilson Prep 57-23 in the first round.
The Wolves couldn’t get anything going offensively, being held to single digits in each quarter.
Wilson Prep sophomore Nakiya Boston led the way with 18 points on a 62% shooting clip.
2A
No. 2 Seaforth dominated its opponents in the first two rounds, beating No. 31 Spring Creek 73-15 in the first round and No. 18 Clinton 70-16 in the second round.
With those wins, the Hawks’ win streak grew to seven.
Seaforth’s victory over Spring Creek saw its largest scoring output of the season. The Hawks started the game on a 29-0 run and led 49-6 at halftime.
Clinton put up a better fight, trailing by just nine at the end of the first quarter. However, Seaforth ramped up its defensive intensity and caught fire from three in a 26-0 run to close the second quarter.
No. 17 Northwood lost to No. 16 Southwest Edgecombe 59-49 in the first round.
The Cougars had three scorers in double digits as seniors Deniya Mayo and Aaliyah Whitehead scored 18 points apiece.
Northwood got off to a slow start, ending the first quarter down 11 and going into halftime down 38-20. The Chargers struggled from the floor, and many of their possessions ended in turnovers.
Northwood had a better showing in the second half, outscoring Southwest Edgecombe 29-22, but the improved play wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit.