From the opening tip, the Lady Dark Horses made it clear there would be no postseason hangover.
Fresh off a conference tournament loss and with a first-round bye behind them, Clinton wasted no time asserting itself in its NCHSAA state playoff opener against North Lenoir. A quick three-pointer from Phoenix Everett immediately after winning the tip ignited a dominant first quarter that carried the Lady Dark Horses to a convincing 68-35 victory on their home floor.
“We told the players you find out how good you are after a loss,” Clinton head coach Chris Owens expressed. “They’ve got to become more focused. I think we were more focused. We had two good practices, and I felt good about it. So they went out there and did what we were supposed to do.”
First-quarter fire
Everett’s opening triple set the tone, and moments later Clinton forced a five-second violation on the ensuing inbounds play. Rubi Davila found Jayla Pickett open under the basket for an easy finish and a 5-0 lead.
Play was briefly halted at the 6:12 mark due to an injury to Janiya Mosley, but the Lady Dark Horses didn’t lose rhythm. Everett jumped a passing lane for a steal and finished coast-to-coast. Soon after, Davila converted an and-one layup to stretch the advantage to 10-0 in just over two minutes.
Clinton’s patented full-court press suffocated the Lady Hawks, forcing both hurried decisions and unforced turnovers. North Lenoir didn’t get on the board until Cassidee Fraser split a pair of free throws midway through the period.
London McNeil, subbing in for Mosley, added two free throws late in the quarter, and by the end of the first, Clinton had built a commanding 20-2 lead.
Hawks respond, Clinton answers
The second quarter saw North Lenoir show signs of life. Daniyah Coxum and Fraser chipped in at the line, while Teriana Newkirk and Ta’Sheena Lynch added baskets as the Lady Hawks trimmed the margin.
With three minutes remaining in the half, Clinton’s once 19-point cushion was down to 15 at 27-12. Two minutes later, North Lenoir had clawed within single digits at 27-18.
But just as the visitors found momentum, Clinton responded.
Everett and Stuart ended a scoring drought with back-to-back layups, restoring separation. Moments later, Lynch was whistled for a foul and then assessed a technical, resulting in her fouling out. Clinton capitalized at the stripe and carried a 35-21 advantage into halftime.
At the break, Everett paced the Lady Dark Horses with 14 points, Davila added nine, and Stuart chipped in four. Lynch led North Lenoir with nine before her disqualification.
Controlling the tempo
The third quarter featured more balanced scoring, with both teams trading baskets. Still, Clinton never relinquished control. Midway through the period, the Lady Dark Horses maintained a 43-25 edge, and with 90 seconds left in the frame, they led 45-30.
Owens even began rotating in reserves late in the third, as Clinton entered the final quarter ahead 46-33.
“I think because of the loss, they got back down to earth a little bit and were hungry about it,” Owens said. “They wanted to play for each other and help each other out. I think that was the difference.”
Closing statement
Clinton pulled away decisively in the fourth.
With 4:25 remaining, the lead swelled to 20. As the clock ticked under two minutes, the second unit continued to apply pressure. Kimberly Evans caught fire down the stretch, knocking down a three from the top of the key, finishing a fastbreak layup on the next possession, and later drilling another three during her personal scoring burst.
With 90 seconds left, Clinton led 60-35. By the final horn, the Lady Dark Horses had extended the margin to 33 points, sealing a 68-35 victory.
Owens credited improved focus and preparation for the performance and emphasized the importance of home-court advantage moving forward.
“It is very important,” he noted of hosting again in the next round. “We talked about it last year when we had to go on the road. We told the girls from the start if we do what we’re supposed to do in the regular season, we can play at home. I think it’s an advantage, and we like taking care of our home court. We’ll get back to the drawing board tomorrow, see who we have next and go from there.”
While pleased, Owens still sees room for growth.
“I think we shot free throws better tonight,” he added. “I still want us to shoot our free throws better and focus on those layups.”
Holding heads high
Despite the lopsided score, North Lenoir head coach Howard Wooley praised his team’s resilience.
“I was real pleased with our girls,” Wooley shared. “Our girls play hard every game. We never give up. This game had some highs and lows, different flows, and we had to make adjustments. Once we made those adjustments, we were able to make runs, but Coach Owens made those adjustments as well. He’s a great coach and runs a great program.”
Wooley pointed to missed free throws as a key missed opportunity.
“The one thing I was disappointed in is we didn’t hit our free throws,” he explained. “If we hit those, we narrow the gap tremendously. But all in all, I’m real pleased with my girls and really pleased with the season. We come from a hard conference, we play a tough non-conference schedule, and we’ll get better.”
With three seniors departing, Wooley emphasized the program’s continuity.
“It’s not a new standard. It’s an ongoing standard — Hawk Pride,” he remarked. “We take tremendous pride in our girls’ basketball program. The seniors have been great. They stayed committed. When you become a senior, you start looking at college and life, but they stayed committed. And wherever they go, they’ll always be Hawks forever.”
With the win, Clinton advances to the second round and will once again defend its home floor Saturday night against the 11th seed Ledford High — just the way the Lady Dark Horses planned when the season began.