Freshman Kiara Leslie scored 10 points and seniors Natiece Ford and Viana Jordan added nine apiece to lead the Lady Golden Hawks past Wake Forest-Rolesville 50-46 in the first round of the 4-A playoffs.

“These girls worked so hard in the off-season and then all through this year,” said first year Holly Springs head coach Tierre Ramsey, whose Hawks improved to 19-8 on the season. “They’ve been developing that winning mentality, and this shows that hard work pays off.”

Holly Springs finished second in the Tri-Nine Conference behind Green Hope and earned a No. 2 seed in the playoffs. The Golden Hawks will host Wakefield (14-10)on Wednesday. Wakefield edged Durham Riverside 46-42 on Monday.

Holly Springs led the entire second half after coming from behind to take a 28-26 lead into intermission. Sophomore Linnea Hoops nailed a clutch three pointer to tie the score at 26-all, and then free throws by Ford and Tracy Kemp gave the Golden Hawks a lead they would not relinquish.

The Cougars (12-15) did not make things easy for the hosts, as they turned to a pressure defense late in the third quarter that forced some Hawks mistakes and kept Wake Forest-Rolesville within five points the rest of the contest.

Ramsey credited Jordan with being the “unsung hero”, as three of her putbacks off missed shots in the fourth quarter preserved the Holly Springs win.

“I was really impressed with our poise down the stretch,” Ramsey said. “We didn’t play our most cohesive game but the girls made the plays to win. Natiece and Viana showed up tonight and were not ready to go home.”

Ramsey was also pleased with the Hawks defense, limiting WF-R senior Taylor Walker to 22 points and controlling the paint.

Cougar head coach Takema White was proud of the effort her girls gave against Holly Springs and all season.

“Our girls got better game after game,” White said. “Holly Springs played well, but our girls fought the entire game.”