By David Rogers. MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Having two players in double figures scoring didn’t help Watauga on Dec. 16, not when host Lake Norman High School had four.
Pioneer guards Kate Sears and Charlotte Torgerson scored 18 and 10 points, respectively, but the Wildcats countered with Kelsey Rhyne pouring in a game-high 20 points, with a double digit supporting cast of Alexis Shehan (18), Samantha Shehan (15), and Kristen Lewis-Williams (14).
The Shehan sisters accounted for 11 of the Wildcats’ 15 first quarter points and 12 of Lake Norman’s 24 point second period outburst, allowing the home team to jump out to a comfortable, 39-12 lead by halftime.
Watauga was limited to just a single 3-pointer by Sears in the first quarter as Lake Norman clamped down on defense, right from the get-go.
On the night, the Pioneers recorded eight successful 3-pointers — by Sears (3), Torgerson (3) and Julie Matheson (2) — but there was little other offensive production.
Interesting stat line: the Pioneers were 7-of-10 from the free throw line, but ALL of the free throw attempts came in the second half. Lake Norman was 1-for-1 in the first half, 4-of-7 in the second half.
Led by Rhyne’s three 3-pointers, Lake Norman totaled five successful shots from behind the arc. Much of the rest were from inside the paint, with dominant play from the 5-11 Shehan twins, both sophomores for the Wildcats.
Still undefeated at 10-0, Lake Norman will next go on the road to face A L Brown in Kannapolis on Dec. 19. At 6-2 on the still young season, Watauga will take any lessons learned to the Cherokee Invitational tournament (Dec. 20-22) for a first round matchup against Lee High School from Huntsville, Ala.
SCORING SUMMARY
- LN Kelsey Rhyne (20)
- WAT Kate Sears (18)
- LN Alexis Shehan (18)
- LN Samantha Shehan (15)
- LN Kirsten Lewis-Williams (14)
- WAT Charlotte Torgerson (10)
- LN Jeta North (3)
- WAT Diane McGlamery (2)
- WAT Brooke Scheffler (2)
- LN Adason Buoniconti (2)
- LN Nevaeh Atkins (2)
