Published: 12:00 AM, Sat Mar 06, 2010
Westover girls to play regional semifinal, at last
By Earl Vaughan Jr.
Scholastic sports editor
It's hard enough getting a basketball team ready for state playoff competition without throwing in unexpected complications. That's why a frustrated Gene Arrington is glad his Westover girls will finally get to play their first game today in the 3-A Eastern Regional tournament in Greenville.
Westover (21-5) takes on Havelock (25-5) in a 3-A regional semifinal game scheduled at 1 p.m. today at J.H. Rose High School. The teams were supposed to play Wednesday, but the game was postponed when Pitt County Schools, the tournament host, refused to hold any games that night because its schools were closed for snow that day.
"I'd be lying if I said this wasn't a problem,'' Arrington said. "Right now we're handling it pretty good.
"My biggest concern is our focus. They haven't played in a week. That's tough, but I think they can handle it.''
Another negative for Westover is if it wins against Havelock tonight, its title game for the regionals will be played at 3 p.m. Sunday at Rose.
"Sunday is not a good day,'' Arrington said. "Folks are going to church. And we've got to play back-to-back.''
Arrington felt tournament officials should have let his team play Friday and scheduled Winterville South Central, which is in Pitt County and doesn't have to travel, play the Saturday game.
Now, if Westover wins, they'll spend the night in Greenville so they don't have to drive back Sunday.
Despite all the distractions, Arrington said success for the team comes down to one thing. "We've got to play good defense,'' he said. "They've got a good athletic team. If we don't play good defense, we don't win.''
Scholastic sports editor Earl Vaughan Jr. can be reached at vaughane@fayobserver.com or 486-3519.