Senior guard Shannon Burton has been coming off the bench for Southeast Raleigh all season. On Friday night, she showed exactly the kind of reserve leadership her coach wanted.

Burton led the way with 12 points, 10 of them in the second half, as the Bulldogs topped East Wake 60-48 in a battle for first place in the Greater Neuse River 4-A girls’ basketball standings.

The defending champion Bulldogs (10-4, 5-0 GRNC) won their eighth straight game while snapping the Warriors’ 10-game winning streak.

“Our goal going into the game was to jump on them early and not let up,” Southeast coach Nicole Myers said. “We had some lapses in that, but we did a good job fighting and digging out a hard one. This was a competitive, physical game.

“Shannon really picked us up. She’s our best 3-point shooter and we set some very good screens for her. We need a leader coming off the bench, and she’s been that for us all season.”

Shakerrya Morrison led the Warriors (11-3, 4-1) with 16 points while Tianna Knuckles added 12.

Southeast benefitted from balanced scoring. It got a trio of 3-pointers from Alexus Hicks and eight apiece from Tiffany McCarter and Amara Bell.

Southeast led 28-19 at halftime behind six points each from Bell and Hicks. Morrison had nine first-half points for East.

“I was disappointed we didn’t step up to the occasion,” East coach Toni Vick said. “We missed a lot of layups and a lot of free throws (12) and we didn’t make good enough defensive stops. We’ve got to do better with that next time.”

The Bulldogs scored the game’s first five points – three from sophomore McCarter, who picked up three fouls in the first period – and never trailed.

Southeast’s biggest lead in the first half was 11, at 28-17 on a Cherelle Turrentine layup in the second quarter.

The Warriors trimmed the difference to 36-31 on Knuckles’ three-point play in the third, but Burton responded with consecutive 3-pointers.

“I don’t mind coming off the bench,” Burton said. “Those shots were real big. But it’s the support from my teammates that gives me confidence to hit them. They never get down on me when I miss.”

East cut it to 49-41 on a pair of Morrison free throws with five minutes, 27 seconds remaining, but Southeast responded with seven straight points. The streak ended with Burton’s jumper to make it 56-51.