Lady Knights Win Over Whitefield

Pace Academy’s girls’ basketball team overwhelmed Whitefield Academy 60-39 at home Saturday afternoon behind 20 points from junior point guard Haley Zwecker. 

Pace led from start to finish, getting key contributions from their top players. Zwecker was the high scorer, while Morgan Batey had an excellent all-around game with 16 points, 12 rebounds, three steals and a blocked shot. Kaitlyn Dinkins scored 15 points, nine of them coming from beyond the arc.  She also recorded nine rebounds.

Pace led 10-6 after the first quarter, then blew the game open in the second when Dinkins started to heat up from long-distance. Her first three-pointer came with 3:48 remaining in the first half. She hit another one on the very next possession, giving the Lady Knights a double-digit lead, 22-11, then hit her third just before halftime, as Pace went to the locker room up 25-13.

Zwecker took over in the third quarter, slashing to the basket for a couple of layups and several trips to the free-throw line, where she went 6-for-6. Pace increased its lead to 44-22 heading into the fourth quarter, when Batey went on a scoring run of her own, making five field goals on several nice shots, inside and out.

Senior guard Erichea Barnes led Whitefield with 15 points, while 6-foot-4-inch center Briana Jones had 10 points and nine rebounds. Barnes has signed with Mercer University, while Jones is headed to James Madison.

Pace finishes the regular season with a 20-4 record, and as Region 5A-A champion, will host the tournament next week. Whitefield (14-9) will likely be the second seed in Region 9-A’s tournament.