BY TITUS MOHLER/SUFFOLK NEWS-HERALD
titus.mohler@suffolknewsherald.com

SUFFOLK—Nansemond-Suffolk Academy’s varsity girls’ basketball team recovered from a slow start against Bishop Sullivan to finish with a 48-35 home victory on Wednesday night.

Freshman guard Harper Birdsong led the Lady Saints with 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and junior guard Jessica Pieroni had 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and four steals.

NSA trailed 15-11 after the first quarter. Head coach Kim Aston felt that uncharacteristic errors were partially to blame, but also some risky defensive play that did not pay off.

NSA outscored the Crusaders 17-5 in the second quarter and 14-6 in the third. Junior guard/forward Kaylor Nash was instrumental in widening the gap on the scoreboard with 10 points, seven rebounds and four steals.

In terms of shooting, it was a bit of an off night for Pieroni, who typically leads the team in scoring.

“I wasn’t really hitting, but my teammates did a great job making up for that,” she said.

When the fourth quarter arrived, NSA held a 42-26 lead with a simple goal in mind.

“Hold the ball,” Birdsong said. “That was our game plan.”

Aston praised the poise demonstrated by her back court during the game, particularly because the team’s perimeter shooting was off.

“I thought Macy (Mears) and Harper (Birdsong) did a good job controlling the ball out front and just running some time off the clock before we took shots,” she said.

Nansemond-Suffolk (5-1, 0-0) hosts Tidewater Academy on Tuesday.