on Tuesday, in Buxton, for Hatteras School's senior night and last home game of the season.
Hurricane star senior Maggie Easley had no stock in losing. She drilled early threes, and helped the 'Canes double up on Ocracoke 8 -16 by the end of the first quarter. The Hatteras girls played with poise and focus.
As did the Dolphins. Unrattled by the deficeit, the Ocracoke team lobbed the ball inside to Lucy O'Neal and Echo Bennink, closing the gap in the second quarter. A sweet baseline floater by point guard Diana Perez narrowed the margin to 16 - 19.
There appeared to be as many Dolphin fans in attendance as there were for the home team. Fans on both sides were vocal in their frustration with officiating decisions, or lack thereof.
Katie O'Neal stole the ball twice and neatly got the ball to open teammates, proving the wisdom of Coach B giving her the start.
Echo stole the ball and took it the length of the court, tying the game at 21. The Dolphins exploited their deeper bench and stretched the lead. Molly Lovejoy came in and played tough, giving center Lucy a chance to rest.
Maggie nailed a last second jumper, making the score 23 -25, favoring the Dolphins going into halftime.
Maggie's dominant play kept the game tight in the third quarter. The Hurricanes led 32 -31 before the more balanced Dolphin team took over. The talented Miss Easley scored 31 of Hatteras' 43 points for the night.
Every time the defense was drawn to Echo, who scored 22 in the game, she fed to Lucy on the inside, and the Dolphins were up ten with five minutes to play. Lucy scored 12 of her 18 points in the second half. The final score was Dolphins 55, Hurricanes 43.
Maggie's twin brother Robbie Easley came out playing like a monster, blocking 3 Dolphin shots in the first quarter, muscling down rebounds, and scoring with drives down the middle.
The composed Dolphin team played their game, lobbing the ball to Andrew Tillett, who keeps his head up, has strong hands, and never seems rattled despite the beating he takes inside.
Walker Garrish caught the ball just inside the paint and made a smooth step and turn around jumper to tie the game. The Dolphins got their first lead in the second quarter with a lay up by Walker.
The teams traded points.
Dolphin guards Wyatt Norris and Adam Carter made some dangerous passes that got picked off by Hatteras, but Adam helped even things out playing ferocious defense and making steals.
An inbounds pass found William O'Neal, whose lay up gave Ocracoke a 17 -16 edge.
Forward Walker -- a freshman-- confidently showed his range with a 3 pointer as seconds clicked off the clock. It fell, and the Dolphins went into halftime ahead, 20 -16.
The Hurricanes emerged from the locker room determined not to lose to the Dolphin's inside game. Ocracoke guards Wyatt and Adam proved they were threats, too. Wyatt scored on a jump stop and then with a great head fake, and Adam showed his cool with pull up shots. Both pushed the ball confidently and quickly to the basket, forcing Hatteras to hustle back on defense.
Hatteras coaches put dreadlocked #20 on the floor for the first time, and he gave the Hurricanes a huge lift, tying it at 35 with a crisp 3 point shot. Fear the hippie.
The home team built on momentum and put the next four points on the scoreboard. A gutsy three point shot by Wyatt fell as the buzzer sounded and took the teams into the final quarter with Hatteras ahead 39 -38.
Asa Ballance was outstanding for Hatteras in the final 8 minutes, driving and scoring twice to give them a four point lead. Wyatt drove and got to the line, adding a point for Ocracoke. Andrew's rebound and put back got the Dolphins within a point, 46 -47. The Dolphins then missed a heartbreaking layup that would have given them the lead with 1:44 left.
With 55 seconds left in the game and Hatteras leading by 3, the Dolphins started fouling. The final score was Hurricanes 55, Dolphins 48.
Coach David Allewalt said it was a tough defeat for the team. The loss means the Dolphins will go into the conference tournament as the #4 or #5 seed, and the Hurricanes have secured the #3 spot.
Dolphin statistics can be found at maxpreps.com.
Note to the Lady Dolphins: I was so enjoying watching you play, I forgot to take pictures. My apologies.
