AHOSKIE – The Lady Bears are moving on.

Hertford County High School advanced to the second round of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association 3-A playoffs for the second consecutive year with a 72-52 victory over D.H. Conley.

Jaleesa Chinn poured in 18 points for Hertford County while Deondra Morrison and Briante Bond added 14 each. Camaryn Jones contributed 10 points.

The Lady Vikings were led by Shaquanzo Manning with 21 points.

The second quarter was the key to the victory for the Lady Bears as they opened up a two-point lead to the point of holding a 36-25 advantage at the intermission.

Jones started the second quarter for HCHS with a hoop, but was answered quickly by a bucket from Courtney Fornville. Chinn then buried a three-pointer for the Bears only to be answered by Fornville again.

Brandi Burden of Hertford County and Manning then swapped baskets to leave the Lady Bears with a 22-19 advantage.

Bond, however, started a 6-0 HCHS run on the next hoop. She was followed by baskets from Chinn and Burden as the Lady Bears surged ahead 28-19.

Conley came back with a hoop and free throw from Manning, but Chinn, Sherniece Futrell and Bond had successive shots to give Hertford County a 34-22 lead.

Manning hit 3-of-4 from the free throw line to close the gap to nine, but two Bond shots from the charity stripe gave HCHS a 36-25 lead at halftime.

Jones started the third quarter with a hoop as well, but Manning buried a triple and Fornville scored to get the Lady Vikings within 38-30.

Morrison stopped the spurt with a pair of free throws, but Manning hit another three-pointer and Dayanna Gonzalez scored to get D.H. Conley to within five (40-35).

Chinn, however, sparked an 8-0 spurt for the Lady Bears with scoring assistance from Jones and Bond a pair of free throws by Morrison as Hertford County grabbed a 48-35 edge.

The teams exchanged hoops until the end of the quarter when Chinn buried a three-pointer to send the Lady Bears into the fourth period with a 57-41 advantage.

Morrison hit the first two hoops of the final period and Bond added a bucket that pushed the Hertford County lead to 63-41. Conley rallied to within 16, but got no closer as the Lady Bears again pulled away to the 20-point win.

In addition to those in double figures, Hertford County got eight from Futrell, six from Burden and two from Olivia Edwards.

The win boosted HCHS to 15-6 overall and advanced them to last night’s (Wednesday) sectional semifinal against Wilson’s R.L. Fike High School. That game finished too late for press time.