View from the top
Eagles continue winning ways by downing Knights
Divine Carter-Benson is not the only one glad she’s back playing for the Northeast girls basketball team this year.
There’s a new head coach and 11 other players glad to see her back on the court.
Carter-Benson, who missed her entire junior year due to an injury, led the Eagles with 21 points in Friday’s 55-48 victory over North County. She scored 14 of her points in the second half, including nine in the decisive fourth quarter.
“Me being out there on the court, being a leader, it feels good,” she said. “I’m seeing a change in this program.”
Under new head coach Ed Nalley, the Eagles are off to a 3-0 start after winning just four games last year. They opened the season with a win over Meade last Friday, then blew out Reginald Lewis on Wednesday.
Carter-Benson has led in the Eagles in scoring in two of their wins on the young season. She was one of three starters in double-figures on Friday, with Ryleigh Nalley following with 14 points and Mackenzie Coburn adding 13.
Allyson Wills added seven steals and seven assists for Northeast.
“I love it. It was like that the first two games,” said Ed Nalley, a former assistant coach for the Eagles. “I’m just so happy for the girls.”
Ryleigh Nalley scored 11 of her points in the second half, including a jumper that extended the lead to three with a little more than a minute left, then a steal and a pair of free throws with 30 seconds remaining.
Coburn helped keep the game close with eight of her 13 points in the first half. She added five more points in the third quarter, including her third 3-pointer of the game 15 seconds into the quarter that
helped the Eagles cut into a five-point halftime deficit.
Carter-Benson hit a pair of free throws with nine seconds left in the third quarter that gave Northeast its first lead of the game heading to the fourth. The Knights quickly went back ahead early in the fourth and maintained a slim lead until a steal from Coburn led to a layup in transition for Carter-Benson that put the Eagles up for good with 3:50 to play.
As North County was hanging around and trailed by just three approaching a minute to play, Carter-Benson spotted up for a 3-pointer. With her coach asking her to pull the ball back out, she let the shot go and nailed the 3-pointer to push the lead to six.
“Even if I would have missed that shot, I still would have needed to pick up my defense,” she said. “I just need to keep my head up. Body language is key on the court.”
While Ed Nalley might not have wanted Carter-Benson to take the shot, he’ll take the result.
“That’s one of those, ‘Don’t shoot….Yay,” Nalley said. “She has the green light whenever she has the ball.”
Jada Turner hit four 3-pointers and led North County (0-2) with 14 points, while Aireona Holland added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Alicia Ennals had nine points and 15 rebounds and Jalyn Baynard also scored nine points for North County, which put up a solid effort despite missing three key players.
“It was a great effort,” North County coach Dan Mangum said. “I told the kids I don’t believe in moral victories, but we’re going to build on this and start a string on Monday when we get everybody back. I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”