Like a skilled and seasoned captain undaunted by adversity, Hubert Quinerly expertly guided his team through previously uncharted waters this past season.
Not only did Quinerly steer the Kinston girls basketball squad to its first state championship, it was also the first title in Lenoir County girls basketball history.
For his efforts, Quinerly has been named this year’s area coach of the year by The Free Press.
“It’s a great honor, but I certainly couldn’t have done it without such a great group of girls and such an outstanding coaching staff,” Quinerly said. “They not only made my job much easier, but a tremendous pleasure as well.”
The Vikings finished the season with a sterling 27-4 record and closed the year on an 18-game winning streak. They defeated Canton Pisgah 51-40 on March 16 to claim the 2A state crown.
“It still seems like a dream sometimes,” Quinerly said. “There’s not been a harder working group of girls; they were a pure joy to coach and deserving of the championship.”
Kinston’s run to the title started after a three-game losing streak in the Bunn Christmas tournament. When they returned to practice the next week, Quinerly made sure the team felt the sting of those three defeats.
“I was pretty hard on them that week in practice,” Quinerly said. “We ran a lot, but I wanted them to understand that losing three straight games was not the way of Kinston basketball. We had more pride than that. We were better than that.”
Quinerly’s hardcore strategy worked like magic. Kinston’s closest game the rest of the way was a 49-45 victory over Bunn in the Eastern Regionals. It was a rematch of a game Kinston lost over the holidays.
The Vikings also gained revenge on defending state champion Siler City Jordan-Matthews, the team that eliminated them from the playoffs the previous season.
“We accomplished everything that we set out to do, including some of the smaller goals like beating Bunn and Jordan-Matthews in the return matches,” Quinerly said. “Before the season we wanted to win our conference, our conference tournament, and go as far as possible in the playoffs. We did all those things and more.”
Of all the accolades, Quinerly is probably most proud of the effect the championship season had on his four seniors (Monique Lofton, Alexis Williams, Annie Thi and Starneka Clark), and on the community as a whole.
“Our four seniors have been with me since they were freshman,” Quinerly said. “Seeing the joy in their eyes, and watching the way our season brought the city together, made everything worthwhile. It’s something I’ll never forget.”