FAYETTEVILLE — Hubert Quinerly knew his Kinston girls basketball team couldn’t keep its red-hot shooting pace going forever.
But the Vikings didn’t let their shooting woes carry over to the defensive end, and that’s why they’re going back to the regional finals.
Lydia Rivers scored 20 points, all in the paint, and Brittany Drumgoole was an assist shy of a triple-double in Kinston’s 49-45 come-from-behind win over Bunn at the Crown Arena on Friday.
The Vikings (25-4) will face Siler City Jordan-Matthews, a 60-47 winner over Graham, at 6 p.m. today for the second straight year for a berth in next weekend’s state 2A championship in Chapel Hill.
“When you shoot 32 percent for the game that’s bad (and) you should be losing, but we got enough defensive stops to help us,” Quinerly said.
“With Brittany getting 13 rebounds, that was huge — and Lydia got us started. It was just a team effort defensively.”
Had it not been for the defense, the Vikings might have played their last game.
Bunn (23-7) didn’t necessarily torch the nets in the first half, but its 34.5 percent from the floor was good enough for a 26-21 halftime lead. The Wildcats, who led by as many as nine, hit four 3s in the first half while Kinston came up empty in nine attempts.
In the second half, the Vikings extended their defense, and used it to tie it at 29 on a 3 by Monique Lofton at the 5:29 mark of the third period — just their second 3 of the game — and kept it close until taking the lead for good on a pair of free throws by Drumgoole, who hit 8 of 10 from the line and had 14 points, just inside of 4 minutes to play.
“Most of the time when we play, we don’t miss that many shots — especially in the first half. I told (Alexis Williams) and (Monique), ‘Y’all shoot it. Don’t stop shooting.’ They were going to end up dropping in the second half and they came out dropping,” Drumgoole said.
“That’s our game. We can shoot it and we can get to the rack, too, and that’s what we kept doing.”
In the first half all 21 of Kinston’s points came in the paint, and it didn’t hit a shot outside of the lane until Williams drained a 3 the possession prior to Lofton’s that tied it at 29.
Rivers had 13 first-half points.
A 3 by Bunn’s Whitney Bunn put the Wildcats up 39-35 after 30 seconds had gone by in the fourth quarter, causing a fist pump from the senior who finished her career with over 1,700 points.
Several possessions later, Kinston tied it at 39 on a left-handed drive from Lofton, who finished with eight points, then the Wildcats answered when Precious Walker drove the lane for a 41-39 lead with 5:44 to play.
It was the last field goal Bunn hit until Whitney Bunn drained a 3 with 16 seconds left to make it 48-45.
“We had a tough time shooting the ball in the second half. We couldn’t seem to get the ball to go in the basket. You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Kinston for the defense they played. They made some great adjustments,” Wildcats coach Ben Daniels said.
“(Coach Quinerly’s) girls played their butts off. They earned the win. That’s a darn good team they’ve got over there and they should be proud.”
Bunn followed her 3 with a steal of the ensuing inbounds pass but came up short on her next attempt, which was contested.
Drumgoole was fouled with 5.6 seconds to play and hit the first of two free throws to seal the win.
“This was a tough win. You hate to see anybody you lose this game,” Quinerly said.
“I thought we did a great job. Our game plan was dead on. (The Wildcats) knocked down some shots and we thought they would. I thought we were going to hit more shots than what we did. But in the end a win is a win.”
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.
Bunn 12 14 10 9—45
Kinston 11 10 11 17—49
WILDCATS (23-7) —Whitney Bunn 13, Precious Walker 13, Key 7, Vines 6, Gallatin 5, Simmons 1, Branch, Cofield.
VIKINGS (25-4) — Lydia Rivers 20, Brittany Drumgoole 14, Lofton 8, Harper 4, Williams 3, Addison, Faison.