GREENSBORO — Page jumped on top early behind some strong 3-point shooting and emerged with a 51-47 win Thursday over Southeast Guilford in Metro 4-A tournament.
Page advances to play Dudley tonight in the championship game.
The Pirates (15-7) made six 3-pointers in the first half, including three quick ones in the first quarter as they bolted out to a 12-4 lead. While Page was lighting up the scoreboard early, Southeast had trouble putting the ball in the basket.
"Tonight's defeat was mostly self-inflicted," Falcons coach Shawyn Newton said. "I think we counted 17 missed layups or put-backs and probably another 16 free throws that we missed. Our focus just wasn't there tonight and Page took advantage of it."
The Falcons (17-7) missed seven free throws in the first quarter alone, and only a strong effort from the line by Brittany Price in the second half got Southeast up to 15-of-33 overall.
Ayshia McNeill kept the Falcons close in the first half, scoring 13 of her 17 points.
Page coach Debbie Jones was pleased with her team's offensive output in the first half.
"Twenty-nine points is one our highest points in the first half," Jones said. "We just couldn't match the point total in the second half. But I was definitely proud of the effort."
While the Pirates struggled to convert shots in the second half, they did an outstanding job controlling the glass after intermission, shutting down the second-chance opportunities for the Falcons.
"I believe in the first half they had 17 offensive rebounds," Jones said. "We just had to lock them down, one and done. That was our focus at halftime."
Paris Kea led Page with 13 points, while Brittnay Drew had 10 and Kayla Johnson had 8.
Next up for the Pirates is a matchup with top-seeded Dudley, the host of the tournament. The Panthers won both games during the regular season, each time by a double-digit margin.
"We've got to play four quarters," Jones said of the championship matchup. "We failed to do that both times we played them. We'd have a good quarter or good stretch but we've got to match their momentum."
Page 14 15 16 6 — 51
Southeast Guilford 8 16 16 7 — 47
Page (15-7) — Paris Kea 13, Brittany Drew 10, Kayla Johnson 8, Hannah Pegram 6, Imani Atkinson 5, Aletta Smith 5, Olivia Seeger 2, Chelsey Coleman 2.
Southeast Guilford (17-7) — Ayshia McNeill 17, Brittany Price 15, Kenya Hailey 8, Kara Shutt 2, Leslie Britt 2, Taylor Graves 2, Kayla Upshaw 1.
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