Lady Trojans Top South Brunswick For County Championship BY JOHNNY CRAIG Becky Buffkin scored the win ning basket with 39 seconds re maining last Friday to give the West Brunswick girls a 53-52 Waccamaw 2-A Conference basketball win over visiting South Brunswick in the fi nal night of the league's regular sea son. The win also gave the Lady Trojans (9-5, 16-6) the county cage championship after having defeated South Brunswick in an earlier con test this season along with winning both games against North Brunswick. Earlier in the week (Tuesday) the West girls took a 63-47 win over host East Bladen. West Brunswick finished the WC regular season in a three-way tie for second place with Whitcvillc and South Brunswick ,?? a!l three ended with 9c lfiagu- records. Whiteville received the number ;wo >ced for the conference tourm. ..era while South Brunswick drew the number three position followed by West Brunswick. The Lady Trojans lost their first round tournament game to fifth place West Columbus 47-37 (see story this section) on Monday at Fairmont West Brunswick, along with South Brunswick, will still qualify for the sectional playoffs which be gin Monday at various sites unless West Colufnbus, sixth-place South Robeson, seventh-place East Bladen or eighth-place North Brunswick wins the league tournament. South Brunswick West Brunswick outscorcd South Brunswick 20-8 at the free throw line while scoring seven of 15 fourth-quarter points from the stripe to gain a 53-52 win over the Lady Cougars before a standing-room-on ly crowd at the Trojan gym. Buffkin ana Christy King led the way for West Brunswick with 19 and 16 points respectively while al so combining foi io points in the crucial fourth quarter. King convert ed on 12 of 17 free throw attempts to also lead the Lady Trojans at the foul line. "We shot 59 percent from the free throw line which isn't great but cer tainly a lot better than we have in some of the games this season," said West Brunswick coach Brenda Council. "South Brunswick's re bounding killed us. For some rea son, we just weren't going to the boards." "This finishes up our regular sea son on a three-game winning streak. Tonight is by far the best we've played in a good while. We need play like this as we head into the state playoffs." "Playing in front of such a large crowd tonight kind of made us tight and tense and caused us to make a lot ol turnovers early. It certainly helped being on the home court though," added Council. West Brunswick appeared ready to open the game up in the final BUFFKIN CONTROLS-West Brunswick's Beckv Buffkin (left) pulls the ball away from Stacy Isenberg (right) of South Brunswick in last Friday's intercounty cage battle. The iMdy Trojans edged past South 53-52 to clinch the Brunswick County championship as Buffkin scored 19 points to lead the way. minutes of the third quarter when Uie Lady Trojans went from a 33-32 achat to their biggest lead of the second half. 38-33 with 2:35 to Play. Bufikir. served six straight points in just 27 scconds to put West ahead but South Brunswick's LaTonya Hankins sank a free throw and scored again on a short jumper in me nnai 24 scconus m wing u,c Lady Cougars within 38-36. West Brunswick led by four points on two occasions in the fourth quarter, the last being 47-43 M? 4:i?- f? P,ay following Monique King s baseline jumper South Brunswick tied the game 27,?" Stacy 'sen berg's basket with 3.33 remaining and the Lady Cougars took their first lead since midway in ihc ihird quarter 50-49 on Allison Cum bee's three-point' goal with 3:05 to play. Christy King's two free throws with 2:30 left gave West Brunswick the lead 51-50 before Hankins con verted on a paL- of foul shots to give the Udy Cougs a 52-51 lead with l.'ij remaining. f?"1.his was a vcry. very hard fought game and about as intense as a girl.: game can get," said South Brunswick coach Mike 'senberg Ihis type of game should help both teams (South and West playoffs' 35 thCy entCr thc state . l"&5esl difference was at shot ^ fTll",e' Wcst Brunswick 18 " L shots comParcd to our io, added Isenberg. The two teams took turns control ling play in the first half. South Brunswick led through u?m ) fifSt quartcr and 'ook a 14-10 edge on Cumbee's first three point goal with 44 seconds left. Christy King hit one of two free throws with 15 scconds remaining as West Brunswick trailed 14-11 thc end of the period. The Lady Trojans went on a 6-0 tear early in thc second quartcr to icad wiih 5:21 to piay Threc Tikila Morgan ?ws' an?d>er by Christy King and a Buffkin layup led thc way for West Brunswick. West Brunswick took' its biggest lead of the game, 25- 1 9 with 1 :23 to Play in the half on another Bufllcin uasRci ana Shanna Gauac'a jumper. However, South Brunswick ral 1*?* l?ur