In front of capacity crowd, the Pioneer women light up Hibriten in conference tourney finale, 68-46

February 23, 2024

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Watauga's Kate Sears (12) took command of the court on Feb. 23 in the Northwestern Conference tournament final vs. Hibriten, earning tournament MVP honors. Photographic image by David Rogers

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — With a sprinkling of college scouts in the standing room only crowd on Feb. 23 in Lentz Eggers Gym, Watauga junior point guard Kate Sears put on a show, teammate Julie Matheson buried back-to-back 3-pointers to get the Pioneers jumpstarted, then fellow guard Kaitlyn Darner picked up any slack with 3-of-4 shooting from behind the 3-point arc. Without question, the Watauga Pioneers left little doubt as to who the best women’s basketball team in the 3A/4A Northwestern Conference was, dispatching a plucky Hibriten side, 68-46.

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The pre-game scuttlebutt was that representatives of App State, James Madison, Davidson, and Wake Forest — and maybe others — were in attendance to watch Sears & Co. perform in the NWC Tournament Championship game. Sears, who has been on various schools’ respective radars since as early as her 6^th grade season with Blowing Rock’s middle school team, did not disappoint. She poured in 28 points, grabbed 15 rebounds (13 on the defensive end, depriving Hibriten of second chance opportunities), and distributed the ball unselfishly to teammates for seven assists. She shot 50 percent from the field, stuck 4-of-7 from behind the arc, and made 6-of-7 free throws. Unsurprisingly, she was named tournament MVP.

Kaitlyn Darner, with one of her first quarter 3-pointers to help Watauga gain separation from Hibriten in conference tournament championship game. Photographic image by David Rogers

Darner’s 3-pointers accounted for the majority of her 15 points on the night while Matheson’s 63 percent shooting from the field, including 3-of-5 from long range, were part of a 13-point total for her evening’s work. Their performances earned both Darner and Matheson selections to the all-tournament team, joining Sears.

Elsewhere, sophomore forward Laney Shook cleared the boards for seven rebounds and scored five points. Charlotte Torgerson (4 points) and freshman Blair Haines (3 points, coming off the bench) rounded out the Pioneer scoring.

To describe Hibriten as “plucky” is an understatement. After upsetting heavily favored Ashe County in the tournament semifinals, the Panthers figured to be a stiff challenge, at least, for the Pioneers. The one-two punch of senior guard Emma Poarch (15 points) and freshman guard Aamori Patterson (11) were joined in double figures scoring by forward Jada Brown (10), who is one of the state’s top triple jumpers in track and field. Both Poarch and Patterson earned spots on the all-tournament team.

Watauga head coach Bill Torgerson was enthusiastic after the game about what is Pioneers had accomplished with the NWC tournament championship.

Senior guard Charlotte Torgerson had a quiet night scoring for Watauga, but was critical to the Pioneers’ disruptive defensive effort. Photographic image by David Rogers

“The players really delivered one of their best performances of the year in one of the most important games,” note Torgerson. “Hibriten has some really talented shooters and scorers and lots of players did things really well that won’t show up in the box score. Take Diane McGlamery and Gracie Lawrence, for example. Both of them did a really good job of defending inside and not requiring help and that allowed the rest of our players to contest shooters. And a player such as Laney Shook had two really strong rebounding games in the tournament that helped us win.”

Watauga’s first year head coach could not contain his admiration for what Sears is accomplishing.

“Kate Sears played really well and has a lot of extra things to navigate,” said Torgerson. “There were quite a few college coaches at the game and everyone is always telling her, ‘give me thirty tonight Kate.’ So, that’s a lot for a teenager to navigate and she delivered with a strong shooting night, an amazing night on the boards, and did a great job of finding her teammates.

Finally, he added, “I was really happy for Kaitlyn Darner and Julie Matheson to make the all-tournament team. Julie really gave us a big spark in the championship game knocking down a couple of early 3-point shots. Kaitlyn also shot it really well and played excellent defense. She also got some key deflections and steals in the tournament. When we’re playing zone and trying to get to shooters, she and Charlotte Torgerson make a great defensive team.”

The Pioneers now await who they will face in the first round of the state playoffs. As the top 4A seed from the Northwestern Conference, they are assured of at least one home game on Tuesday, Feb. 27, with tipoff at Lentz Eggers Gym scheduled for either 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m., depending largely on from where their opponent will need to travel.