Comets’ hot shooting spreads

BENSON -- It was the last thing West Johnston’s girls basketball team needed.

The Wildcats were already having to deal with the conference’s leading scorer in Vernessa Hinnant and now fellow Comet Jenna Harris was heating up too.

Behind the two-headed threat of Hinnant and Harris, Clayton toppled the Wildcats 74-43 Tuesday night in a Greater Neuse 4A win that spoiled Senior Night for West Johnston.

“We can live with one girl hot but we can’t live with two girls hot. And they were able to do that,” said West coach Bill Pepicello. “Give them credit for what they do.”

Harris scored all of her game-high 24 points in the first three quarters and Hinnant added 22 of her own as Clayton pulled away from the Wildcats in the second half.

“If Jenna gets those open looks it’s just going to open it up for everybody else,” Clayton coach Marlon Lee said. “It was good that she hit those shots, especially early on. It kind of gave us the separation going into the half.”

The Comets’ lead was just 35-27 at halftime but Clayton burst out of the locker room with a 30-11 run that lasted well into the fourth quarter as the upset bid slipped away from the Wildcats.

Harris found the bottom of the net on six 3-pointers and along with Hinnant combined for 14 of Clayton’s 19 field goals through the first three quarters. By the start of the fourth quarter, the duo had accounted for 42 of the Comets’ 52 points.

“We played a box-and-one for the whole first half to try to take Hinnant out of the game and she still had 13 points at halftime. So we didn’t do a real good job on her,” Pepicello said. “And then (Harris) got hot. We know she can shoot the 3. Tonight she made them.”

Lee hopes the hot shooting is something that will continue to spread throughout his team once the playoffs begin.

“On any given night, different people are going to be scoring,” Lee said. “We just want to keep getting better and better and see more and more people stepping up. At this point in the season that’s what you ask for.”

The Wildcats pocketed five 3s themselves as the teams combined for 13 fields goals from behind the arc. Jarmeia Holder led a balanced West Johnston attack with 10 points as Chrajon Frederick and Antonia Smith added nine apiece.

Frederick and J.P. Preston (seven points) were the only two seniors honored before the game for the young Wildcats.

With the win, Clayton improved its record to 13-5 overall including 8-5 in the conference. West Johnston fell to 8-13 overall and 4-9 in the conference.