North Lenoir Falls to Southwest Onslow 45-28 in ECC Tournament Opener

North Lenoir Falls to Southwest Onslow 45-28 in ECC Tournament Opener

KINSTON – The North Lenoir Hawks’ postseason run came to an end on Tuesday, falling to the Southwest Onslow Stallions 45-28 in the first round of the ECC Conference Tournament at Kinston High School.

The Hawks, the No. 6 seed in the tournament, struggled to match the intensity of the No. 3 seed Stallions, who were led by a dominant performance from Driyanna Galloway.

North Lenoir had difficulty finding an offensive rhythm, particularly at the free-throw line, where they converted just 6 of 30 attempts. The poor shooting proved costly as the Hawks faced a 24-12 deficit at halftime. Despite showing fight in the second half and cutting into the lead at times, they were unable to overcome the Stallions’ defense and Galloway’s scoring surge.

Sieanna Roberson led the Hawks with seven points, while Ta’Sheena Lynch added six in the losing effort. However, Galloway was the star of the night, finishing with 34 points for Southwest Onslow, proving too much for North Lenoir to contain.

Head coach Howard Wooley reflected on the missed opportunities after the game.

“We cut the lead, thought we were going to be able to make a run at it, and then we had some miscues here and there,” Wooley said. “We let No. 12 get away from us. I told the girls, when you go to the free-throw line 30 times and only hit six, it’s going to be hard to beat anybody.”

Despite the loss, Wooley remains optimistic about the future of the program. The Hawks finished the season with a 6-18 record but have a young core that can build upon this experience.

“We will do some group workouts over the summer, we’ll come together as a team, and before you know it, we’ll be in the season with games,” Wooley said.

With the season now behind them, the Hawks will look to regroup, develop, and return stronger for next year’s challenges.