By David Rogers. CHEROKEE, N.C. — When your basketball opponent has two dominant post players who can also shoot from the outside, just make sure that your open looks are straight and true. That is something that didn’t happen for Watauga in the Pioneers’ semifinal loss, 53-42, to Charlotte Catholic on Dec. 21, in the Cherokee Invitational.
Without question, the Pioneers battled fiercely. Especially in the first half, Watauga’s defensive pressure was disruptive and kept the Cougars off-balance. Kate Sears, Charlotte Torgerson, Caroline Farthing and Brooke Scheffler came down with defensive rebounds after Catholic’s own errant shots in the opening two quarters.
But time and again the Pioneers in transition were stymied by Charlotte Catholic’s defensive pressure — and frequent steals. And when Watauga was able to work the ball to an open player, all too often the shot was off the mark, clanging off the rim into the waiting arms of a Cougar rebounder.
The score at the end of the first quarter, 7-5 in favor of the Pioneers, reflected both teams’ offensive frustrations. By halftime, the Cougars had clawed their way into a tenuous, 22-18 advantage, thanks in no small measure to the inside exploits of their 6 ft., 5 in., power forward/center, Blanca Thomas’ 12 first half points, as well as 6 points contributed by 6 ft. forward Gracyn Gough, including a resounding 3-pointer in the second quarter.
Sears provided most of Watauga’s first half offense, with 13 of the High Country quintet’s 18 opening points, including a 3-pointer and 4-for-4 shooting from the foul line. Torgerson recorded the game’s opening bucket but was quiet for the rest of the first 16 minutes. Scheffler nailed a 3-pointer in the first period, but was silent the rest of the first half.
If there was an offensive star in the second half it was Scheffler, who added three more 3-pointers in the second half, often when the senior found herself on the receiving end of a kickout pass from Sears, drawing a crowd as she drove down the lane.
Torgerson and Farthing added a 3-pointer each in the second half but were otherwise silenced by the Cougars. Sears was 3-for-4 from the charity stripe in the second half but otherwise only added a single bucket, from inside the paint.
Meanwhile, the Cougars expanded their lead on the backs of Gough and Thomas, with the dynamic duo of junior “bigs” combining to pour in 28 of their team’s 31 second half points. Gough’s 19 points in the second half, including a pair of 3-pointers, did most of the damage.
Gough finished the afternoon session with a game-high 25 points, Thomas close behind with 21. Sears posted a team-high 18 points for the Pioneers while Scheffler was also in double figures, with 14.
“They obviously rebounded very well,” said Watauga head coach Laura Barry after the game. “I thought Brooke Scheffler did a very good job in fighting against (Blanca Thomas). We were late on a number of one-on-ones and we need to give more help than that. I thought we made some good runs. We did what we wanted to do at the start of the second half after not being great offensively in the first half. But then, Charlotte Catholic made their run right back at us. Their 8-0 or 9-0 run really took it out of us. We missed some shots.”
By not scoring much, offensively, in the first half, Barry said the Pioneers dug too much of a hole.
“I was optimistic at halftime but we have to get the shots in and make some stops. There were a few possessions where we just couldn’t stop them. That made it tough,” said Barry.
With the win, Charlotte Catholic moves on to the Dec. 22 championship match against the other semifinal winner, Lake Norman. Watauga will play the third place game at 3:30 p.m., against Westminister, a 4A power from Atlanta, Ga. The Wildcats made their state’s Final Four in 2021-22, led by senior captain and Stanford commit, Courtney Ogden. They also have another NCAA D1 prospect, according to the Cherokee Invitational organizers, in junior guard Stella Chartrand. Westminster is 7-4 on the year, overall, but undefeated at 4-0 in Georgia 4A Region 6 play.
Watauga will look to improve on its 7-3 overall record (all non-conference opponents). The Pioneers’ three losses include Shelby, Lake Norman, and Charlotte Catholic.
Bonus Photos
