By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — A tentative start morphed into a convincing victory for Watauga in the championship game of the High Country Holiday Classic women’s division on Dec. 29. Led by sophomore point guard Kate Sears’ 40 points, the Pioneers worked their way to a 61-50 win over the Ashe County Huskies in Lentz Eggers Gym.
Ashe County took command early behind deadeye shooting by Abigail Jones and Abby Sheets, who together scored 15 of the Huskies first 21 points, propelling their team to a 21-16 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Pioneers caught up, but even at halftime intermission the score was 35-32 in favor of Watauga. And yet, Ashe County would never again lead. Three Huskies, however, scored in double figures, including Abigail Jones and Abby Sheets tying for team-high honors at 14 apiece, with Overcash right behind, with 13 points.
While Watauga women’s basketball fans are accustomed to seeing Sears emerge as a game-high leader in points scored, at least in most games, the Pioneer offensive attack is usually much more balanced. Partly that is because opposing teams know of Sears’ talents and versatility and focus on her at the expense of leaving Pioneer teammates open. On this night, Sears did little to change her modus operandi. She still attracted a crowd of opposing defenders and kicked the ball out, distributing it to open teammates. As a team, the Pioneers whipped the ball around the court, occasionally one or another would drive the lane and pass back out to the perimeter, to an open teammate. It’s just that most of their shots weren’t going in and Sears’ were. In short, she had the hot hand and has the ability to take full advantage from just about anywhere on the court.
Beyond Sears’ offensive production, there were other keys to this win:
- Brooke Scheffler drew the assignment as the primary defender against Ashe County’s Paige Overcash and did a remarkable job against the Huskies’ star, limiting her to just 13 points when Overcash’s season average is almost 19 points, according to statistics maintained by MaxPreps.com.
- The Pioneers dominated the boards on both ends of the court, with Sears and Scheffler joined by Caroline Farthing, Kaitlyn Darner and Charlotte Torgerson in rebounds, turning the ball up the court in transition after a defensive board or keeping the ball in play on the offensive end for second, third, and even fourth scoring opportunities/
- Yet another younger Pioneer is having an impact. In Round 1, it was sophomore Julie Matheson. In the championship game, it was junior forward Diane McGlamery weaving her way through traffic, collecting an errant shot, or finding the open teammate with a pass. She didn’t play an abundance of minutes but when she was on the floor giving one or more starters a needed breather, she made the most of the opportunity.
Sears earned tournament MVP honors for her performances on behalf of Watauga and fellow Pioneer Brooke Scheffler also was named to the All-Tournament team.
While the Dec. 29 matchup may well prove a pre-cursor to the battle for a Northwestern Conference championship in a couple of months, other NWC contenders may have something to say about that, too, including 12-0 Alexander Central, 11-1 Hibriten, 8-4 Freedom, and 9-5 South Caldwell.
After one more non-conference game at Central Davidson in Lexington on Tuesday, Jan. 3, the Pioneers go on the road Jan. 6 to open conference play at South Caldwell, in Hudson. They will also be on the road Jan. 10 in Taylorsville against Alexander Central, before their home opener in conference play vs. Hibriten on Jan. 13.
BONUS PHOTOS
