AHOSKIE – Bertie High School Head Coach Joan McCullough knew her team would need some time to get on a roll.

The Lady Falcons have done just that of late, roaring back from a slow start in the Northeastern Coastal Conference to claim fourth place in the league thanks to an upset of rival Hertford County High School Friday.

Bertie kept that pace Monday when they dispatched fifth-seeded Edenton 61-37 in the first round of the Northeastern Coastal Conference tournament.

Zakkeya Morris poured in 22 points to lead Bertie to the victory. Tyessance Martin added an even dozen and Zhiasia Bazemore rounded out the double-digit scoring with 10 points.

The game got off to a slow start with the teams tied at four near the midway point of the first period. Bertie got going then, however, scoring six straight points with buckets from Morris, Martin and Bazemore as they surged ahead 10-4.

Hadiya Bembry stopped the spurt with a bucket for Edenton, allowing the Aces to close within 10-6 by the end of the first quarter.

The Lady Falcons really started moving offensively in the second period.

Morris started the quarter with a three-pointer before Chaquasja Veale got three the old-fashioned way – scoring and then adding a free throw. By the time Bazemore scored from the floor, Bertie had upped its lead to 18-6.

Diamond Dillard and Bembry hit consecutive hoops to stop the Bertie run before Bazemore scored again.

The Aces then put together successive hoops again before a Danajah Brown bucket for Bertie, leaving the Falcons ahead 22-14 at the intermission.

Edenton closed the gap to 25-18 after outscoring the Falcons 4-3 early in the second half, but that’s as close as they would get.

Bertie rolled off 13 unanswered points and put the game out of reach.

Bazemore started the spurt with a pair of free throws before Morris sandwiched scores around a Martin hoop to make it 33-18. Martin then added a free throw before Bazemore and Veale hit successive buckets to make it 38-18.

Tamara Leary stopped the run with a hoop for the Aces, but Morris responded with four straight points to make it 42-20.

Tyasha Martin then scored for the Aces, but the Lady Falcons responded with a 10-0 run to put the game away. The Falcons led 52-25 by the end of the quarter.

The Falcons then cruised to the victory to set up their second round matchup with top-seeded Pasquotank County High School. That game was played Wednesday night and finished too late for press time.