Lady Pack claims third straight conference title

LELAND – Despite some sluggish first-half play, the Whiteville High School girls basketball team clinched their third straight Waccamaw Conference basketball championship by defeating the host North Brunswick Lady Scorpions 49-29.

In the boys game, Whiteville held the lead most of the way before North Brunswick rallied with a 33-point fourth quarter to pull out an 88-82 victory.

The Whiteville girls, who claimed their fourth Waccamaw title in five seasons, rode the 19-point, 14-rebound effort of junior forward Paige McCallum. Coach Dudley Revels’ Lady Wolfpack led 23-15 at halftime and put the game away in the final quarter when it outscored the Lady Scorpions 18-8.

Junior Sarah Gore tallied 13 points for the Lady Wolfpack, which improved its conference record to 10-1 and its season record to 19-2.

North Brunswick, which held a short-lived 15-14 lead with three minutes left in the first half, closed its conference schedule with a 3-9 record. Ashley Robbins led NBHS scorers with eight points.

The Whiteville girls can claim the conference title outright with a home victory over South Columbus on Friday.

The North Brunswick boys team was able to avenge its earlier conference loss against the Wolfpack with its big final-quarter surge.

The Scorpions had a busy night at the foul line, sinking 25-of-36 attempts, including a perfect 10-for-10 effort by K.C. Wright.

Keith Bress had 20 points while Wright had 18 for the Scorpions. Shawn Sanders followed with 13 points, and Tyrone Robbins and Antwain Bowden had 11 each.

Aaron Clark rang up 27 points for Whiteville, which led 41-34 at the half and held a 59-55 advantage after three quarters.

Nur Adullah connected for 19 points and Jermaine Best tallied 12 as the Wolfpack’s conference record fell to 3-8. For the season, the Wolfpack slipped to 5-14.

Whiteville will close out its regular-season schedule Friday when it plays host to South Columbus in its annual Senior Night.

GIRLS GAME

WHITEVILLE (49): Gore 13, Turner 2, Drayton 2, Faison 2, McDonald 2, McCallum 19, Manning 1, Baldwin 6, Watts 2.

NORTH BRUNSWICK (29): McNeil 4, Robbins 8, Hymna 1, T. Graham 2, Harrison 4, D. Graham 5, Garrett 3, McKoy 2.

BOYS GAME

WHITEVILLE (82): Clark 27, South 3, Livingston 7, Abdullah 19, Mahoney 6, Best 12, Godfrey 8.

NORTH BRUNSWICK (88): Wright 18, Sanders 13, Wisnot 5, Robbins 11, Riley 3, Bowden 11, Bress 20, Balloon 5.