LA GRANGE — Kinston’s girls basketball team had a goal of finishing this week with three wins in three games.
North Lenoir became its latest victim.
Monique Lofton scored 21 points and Brittany Drumgoole dished out seven assists as the Vikings controlled every facet of the game possible in their 65-34 win over the Hawks at Wooten Gymnasium on Friday.
Takerian Harper added 16 points and Lydia Rivers had 10 points and 14 rebounds as Kinston (9-1) finished this week 3-0 heading into next week’s Christmas tournament at Bunn.
“We wanted that momentum going into the weekend,” Vikings coach Hubert Quinerly said. “To finish the week 3-0? That’s huge. That’s the goal we set coming off a big win over West Craven on Wednesday.
“The girls understood … we couldn’t end a really good week on a bad note.”
A swarming Kinston defense forced North Lenoir to turn it over on 23 of its 30 first half possessions.
The Vikings led 8-0 before the Hawks got on the board at the 1:46 mark of the first quarter on a pair of free throws by Quoya Porter.
North Lenoir (2-8) didn’t score again until Porter hit a 3-pointer with 3:46 to go in the half. By the time she hit the trey the Hawks were done in.
“We defended the ball really well,” Quinerly said. “We wanted to get a full steam ahead right out of the gate.”
About the only thing that went wrong for the Vikings was their free throw shooting. As a team Kinston missed its first eight attempts and finished 11-for-23.
“Free-throw wise, that’s our Achilles heel right now,” Quinerly said. “We shoot a lot of free throws (in practice). It may not look like it in a game, but we do. We’ve got to do a better job of that.”
Ta’Breia Foster scored nine points and had a team-high nine rebounds for the Hawks. Porter added eight points and Amanda Bizzell chipped in seven.
In addition to Drumgoole’s seven assists — the sought-after junior scored only one point — she also had five steals, which were second to Lofton’s six.
Kinston also limited its turnovers with only 14 compared to 33 for North Lenoir.
Both teams will participate in Christmas tournaments next week. The Vikings will participate in the Bunn Christmas Classic Dec. 27-29 and North Lenoir will be at Corinth-Holders Dec. 27-28.
Ryan Herman can be reached at 252-559-1073 or Ryan.Herman@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter: @KFPSports.
Kinston 15 16 20 14—65
North Lenoir 2 9 9 14—34
VIKINGS (9-1) — Monique Lofton 21, Takerian Harper 16, Lydia Rivers 10, Addison 7, Vermillion 3, Washington 3, Clark 2, Williams 2, Drumgoole 1, Thi, Tice.
HAWKS (2-8) — Foster 9, Porter 8, Bizzell 7, Howard 3, Best 2, Murray 2, Supel 2, Varnell 1, Lee.