By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Undoubtedly, when former head coach Laura Barry scheduled a home-and-home vs. perennial regional and state power Shelby, she expected the Golden Lions to test the Pioneers much like the 36-39 non-conference loss Watauga experienced during the 2022-23 campaign.
BONUS PHOTOS at bottom. Click any image for slideshow mode.
What a difference a year can make with graduation and transfers. On Dec. 20 in Lentz Eggers Gym, Shelby proved a shadow of its former self in a 66-12 thumping at the hands of a deep — and skilled — Watauga roster.
A 20-3 first quarter was just a warmup for Watauga’s pesky, disruptive defense and up-tempo offensive style. By halftime, the Pioneers led 40-7, then 54-7 at the end of the third stanza.
Beyond the defensive effort, the most impressive thing about the Watauga attack: how they shared the ball and moved it unselfishly around the court, finding the open teammate with a better shot.
Senior Diane McGlamery and sophomore Lainey Shook led the way, taking advantage of the Pioneers’ up-tempo, move-the-ball-in-transition style to score almost at will. McGlamery tallied an even dozen while Shook recorded a “Baker’s Dozen” (13) to lead all scorers.
Given the lopsided score, Watauga head coach Bill Torgerson was able to empty his bench, including a few junior varsity players brought up for the occasion. Torgerson explained that the new “five quarters” rule allows junior varsity players to also see varsity action so long as they don’t play in more than five quarters in any given day or night when combining varsity and junior varsity play. Especially since there was no junior varsity game on Dec. 20, he was able to get some of his younger athletes into the rotation.
“I watched quite a bit of film on Shelby and realized they were having a down year, so this was a good opportunity to get some younger players varsity experience,” he said after the game.
From a skill standpoint, the Pioneers rarely missed a beat vs. Shelby, whatever combination of players was on the floor.
Watauga figures to receive a much better test on Dec. 27 in the John Wall Holiday Invitational in Raleigh. The Pioneers open play at 10:30 a.m. in the first game of the tournament vs. undefeated Charlotte Catholic, which proved the young Pioneers’ nemesis last year. According to MaxPreps, the Cougars are the No. 1 4A team in North Carolina and the No. 2 program in the state behind NCISAA 3A contender Grace Christian (10-0, Sanford, N.C.).
KEY PERFORMERS (additional Watauga stats to be added)
- WAT – Lainey Shook: 13 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
- WAT – Diane McGlamery: 12 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 1 block
- WAT – Charlotte Torgerson: 9 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
- WAT – Kate Sears: 7 points, 5 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
- WAT – Julie Matheson: 6 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
- WAT – Gracie Lawrence: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal
- SHL – Kamuri London: 6 points
- WAT – Blair Haines: 4 points, 1 rebound, 2 steals
- WAT – Izzy Torgerson: 3 points, 3 rebounds
- WAT – Kaitlyn Darner: 2 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals
- WAT – Olivia Foskey: 2 points
- WAT – Abby Healy: 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist
- SHL – Dareon Kee: 2 points
- SHL – Kennedy Spake: 2 points
- SHL – Jemiah Hopper: 2 points
BONUS PHOTOS
