By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Although Alexander Central has one of the best women’s basketball teams in the Northwestern Conference and challenged Watauga on Jan. 10 in a low-scoring defensive battle before losing, 38-25, in Taylorsville, they couldn’t keep up in the Jan. 31 rematch at Lentz Eggers Gym. The Pioneers ran away with this one, 52-39, before a full house of fans on both sides of the gym floor.
Pioneer point guard Kate Sears poured in a game-high 21 points while tying senior teammate Brooke Scheffler for game-high honors with 7 rebounds each. Pioneer senior Caroline Farthing wasn’t far behind in clearing the boards, with 6 rebounds.
Watauga never trailed, jumping out to a commanding, 16-7 lead after one quarter of play, with Scheffler and Sears taking charge. And then they kept piling on. At halftime, the Pioneers led by double-digits, 30-18, with Sears and Charlotte Torgerson adding 6 points each in the second period.
Much of Watauga’s success should be credited to a the team’s strong defensive effort. Head coach Laura Barry told High Country Sports after the game that they were particularly concerned about containing what they considered to be the Cougars’ three main scoring threats, Meredith Wike, Sydney Hayes, and Kirstyn Herman. While Hayes (13 points) and Harman (12) reached double figures, the Pioneers limited Wike to just two points on the night.
Watauga senior guard Laurel Kiker explained afterward that the Pioneer defensive pressure was very intentional, acknowledging that it helped lead to off balanced shots by the Cougars.
“They weren’t shooting very well,” said Kiker, “and our transition play was pretty good. They had a hard time keeping up with us.”
Next up for the Pioneer women is another, second half of the season rematch they have had circled on the calendar: at Hibriten. The Panthers are responsible for Watauga’s only Northwestern Conference loss of the season, an edgy, 48-45 defeat on a cold-shooting night by the Pioneers after a fire in the school disrupted the flow of the evening’s events.
Watauga will go into the game with sole possession of first place in the NWC standings, with a 6-1 league record. Since upsetting the Pioneers on Jan. 12, Hibriten lost to Alexander Central on Jan. 17, 51-45, and to Freedom on Jan. 27, 46-41.
SELECTED KEY PERFORMERS
- WAT Kate Sears: 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal
- WAT Charlotte Torgerson: 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
- WAT Brooke Scheffler: 9 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal
- WAT Caroline Farthing: 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 points
- WAT Laurel Kiker: 5 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
- ALX Sydney Hayes: 13 points, 5 rebounds, 1 blocked shot, 2 assists
- ALX Kirstyn Herman: 12 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals
