Wildcats advance

Tue. February 14, 2012 at 11:05 p.m. | By Tom Grady | StarNews Correspondent

New Hanover High School's Kapric Pressley battles with New Bern's Tamishia Davis for a rebound during the first round of the Mideastern Conference tournament Tuesday night. (Photo by Jeff Janowski)

New Hanover High School's Shanta Williams scored 22 of her game-high 27 points in the crucial second half Tuesday night in a 57-51 win over visiting New Bern.
With the result, the Wildcats (13-10) advance to face Laney on Thursday at Ashley in the semifinal round of the Mideastern Conference girls basketball tournament.
New Hanover head coach Vertha Dixon-Wright stepped out of her office after the game with the half-smile, half-frown look of a coach pleased with the victory, but wanting more from her team.
"It's almost like I'm wondering where the real Wildcats were," Dixon-Wright said. "Don't get me wrong; I'm glad to get the win.
"It could have been the way New Bern was playing that made us look like we weren't playing. We should have come a little tougher with our defense."
Her team did overcome a double-double effort from New Bern's Jordan Hill, who finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds.
The Bears cut New Hanover's lead to 43-37 early in the final period before Williams hit two consecutive 3-pointers to extend the cushion to 49-37. New Bern trimmed the lead back to three points with 3 minutes remaining, but the Wildcats regained control down the stretch.
Kapria Pressley pulled down 10 rebounds for the Wildcats and Jhaniik Johnson added 9 points.

GREENVILLE ROSE 68, HOGGARD 40
Hoggard was a victim of Greenville Rose's pressing defense and the shooting skills of Taylor Tate.
Tate scored 29 points in the Rampants' win in the first round of the girls Mideastern Conference Tournament. Rose will face Ashley in Thursday's semifinal round at Ashley.
The Vikings were paced by Autumn Bennett with 11 points and Tayah Lowery with 10.
Hoggard (7-16) struggled often over the course of the first half against a full-court press from the Rose defense. Turnovers came in bunches for the Vikings, the primary reason for the 32-12 halftime score.
The Rampants produced a 7-0 lead early on before the Vikings finally scored halfway through the opening quarter.
Lowery and Briana Smith were a tandem force on the boards for Hoggard with 10 and nine rebounds respectively. Erin Walden finished with 15 points for Rose.