Lady Bulldogs run out of gas against NJ
By David Williams
NL Editor
For a few moments, the victory was in Princeton’s grasp against North Johnston’s girls.
But the effort it took to get to that place of potential victory proved to be more than the Lady Bulldogs could endure in a 66-54 loss to their closest rivals at the Dog Pound.
“Once we caught up, I thought we had a couple of chances to take the lead, but I think our legs gave out on us,” said Princeton coach Ricky Boyette. “We turned the ball over a few times and gave them some easy baskets, plus the foul.”
The defeat leaves Princeton at 10-6 and 1-2 in conference play as a tough stretch comes onto the horizon. The Lady ‘Dogs will face equally bitter rival Rosewood on Friday, then meet Ayden-Grifton to conclude the first half of the conference schedule. Winning both games would put the Lady ‘Dogs at 3-2 in league play going into the final stretch, with a chance at the conference title still a realistic goal.
The Lady Bulldogs opened the game in a 10-point hole as North Johnston’s vaunted pressure defense took its toll in the early going. But Princeton managed to right the ship, preventing North Johnston from running away with the game and trailing only 34-25 by halftime.
“They were so psyched, I think a little too pumped up,” said Coach Boyette. “When we came out, we thought we wanted to play – our minds were ready, but our legs were not ready. We had too many turnovers and dug ourselves a hole, and that was because of their defensive pressure.”
With its sophomore guards leading the way on defense, Princeton held North Johnston to just 10 points in the third period while scoring 17 to cut the gap down to three points by the final period. C.C. Sanders led the way with some transition baskets off of turnovers.
“We made an excellent comeback, and my youth was in the ball game,” said Coach Boyette. “I have go to give credit to the sophomores, because it was the sophomores that brought us back, and under pressure. It was the first time they really had to do that, and they did it well, so I am very proud of them. That bodes well for the future.”
Princeton had the lead cut down to just one point early in the final stanza, but the team’s effort in getting back to this point began to take it’s toll on stamina. North scrapped and fought, taking advantage of tired legs to slowly get the lead back out to a manageable margin.
Sanders had a strong outing with 30 points, her second-highest game total of the season. She hit 12 field goals and went 6-for-13 from the free-throw line,
Tiffine Battle had seven points and Tiesha Williams had six. Ashley Braswell and Brittany Baker both had three points, while Stephanie Daughtry and Jill Whitley both had two points. Amber Wood scored one point.
On Tuesday night, Princeton had no trouble knocking off North Duplin 58-23 for its first win in conference play. Daughtry was high point scorer with 21 points, while Sanders had 11 points. Whitley had a season-high eight points and Williams added five, while Braswell and Olivia Booker both had two points each and Baker and Summer Capps both had one point each.
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