CHAPEL HILL — For three quarters, Kinston’s leading scorer didn’t make a shot from the floor and couldn’t hit a free throw.
But with eight minutes left and the state 2A championship on the line, Kinston’s Monique Lofton calmly went to work.
The senior leader scored all 11 of her points in the fourth quarter as the Vikings pulled away late to down Canton Pisgah 51-40 Saturday in the Dean E. Smith Center to claim the first state title in Lenoir County girls basketball history.
Kinston finished the season with a sterling 27-4 record, including an 18-game win streak to close out the year.
“I’m so happy for these girls,” Kinston coach Hubert Quinerly said following the victory. “They worked hard all season and definitely deserved this championship. But the same could be said for Pisgah. It’s a shame that either team had to lose.”
Without Lofton’s fourth quarter heroics, the Vikings may have been the one on the losing end.
After missing her first seven shots, Lofton finally drained a 3-pointer from the right corner to put Kinston ahead 31-27 with 7:13 left in the game.
She added a free throw and then buried another trey at the 5:04 mark. By that time, Kinston was in the midst of a 9-0 run, opening up a 42-31 advantage with 3:48 to go.
“Getting Monique started was huge,” Quinerly said. “She’s one of our seniors and her leadership and play down the stretch was critical.”
Lofton contributed another layup and a pair of free throws to complete her spectacular career finale.
“I think I was a little nervous out there,” Lofton said, “but I kept on shooting and luckily they finally started to fall.”
For three quarters, however, it was a pair of underclassmen that kept Kinston in the game.
Sophomore Lydia Rivers finished with 13 points, nine rebounds and nine blocked shots to earn game MVP honors.
Freshman Jada Faison also scored 13 points, including the free throw that gave Kinston the lead for good in the final minute of the third period. She was named the squad’s Most Outstanding Player.
The first half was a sloppy mishmash of big-game jitters and stellar defensive play.
The two teams combined to shoot 14 of 52 from the floor and 1 of 10 from 3-point range as the Bears (26-7) led 16-15 at intermission.
“The first half was part nerves and part Pisgah’s defense,” Quinerly said. “Obviously they have an outstanding team. It took us a little while to adjust to what they were doing.”
A pair of free throws by Brittany Drumgoole gave Kinston its first lead of the second half, 22-20, with 3:57 remaining in the third quarter.
Kinston also outrebounded the Bears 38-33 in the contest, the first time Pisgah had been beaten on the boards in the playoffs.
“Kinston deserves a lot of credit,” Pisgah coach Brandon Holloway said. “They’re very talented and they won the little battles that decide games between good teams.”
The Vikings outscored Pisgah 23-13 in the final period. They survived despite making just 9 of 19 free throws.
“We knew it was going to be tough, but this is the best feeling in the world,” senior Alexis Williams said. “To be able to go out on such a high note makes all the work the last four years worth it.”