Watauga sweeps past S. Caldwell to claim tournament title, too

February 21, 2025

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Senior guard Julie Matheson (1) drives baseline vs. South Caldwell in the championship final of the Northwestern Conference tournament, Feb. 21, at Ashe County. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

By David Rogers. WEST JEFFERSON, N.C. — Clamp-down defense and hot-hot-hot shooting are a good recipe for winning basketball games. That’s exactly what Watauga cooked up for South Caldwell in the finals of the Northwestern Conference Women’s Basketball Championships hosted by Ashe County on Feb. 21, running away from the Spartans, 72-48 to claim both the regular season and conference tournament titles in 2025.

BONUS PHOTOS at bottom of article

With a packed-to-the-rafters gym buzzing with anticipation because of what happened the last time these two teams met — a 93-91, double overtime upset win by the Spartans on Watauga’s home court on Jan. 31 — a number of questions were left to be answered about how good this Pioneers team really is. One answer is certain: pretty darn good.

January’s state ‘Player of the Month’ in North Carolina, Kate Sears, got nary a point from beyond the 3-point arc but was a force in the paint. She notched a game-high 31 points against South Caldwell in the Northwestern Conference tournament final. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

Besides generating offensive production — putting points on the board — the Pioneers had to find a way to put the brakes on South Caldwell’s dynamic freshman tandem of Ava Anderson and Maggie Wilks, who each tallied 30+ in the Jan. 31 double overtime affair. Head coach Bill Torgerson acknowledged that after the game.

“We chose to match up Anderson with Kate Sears, hoping to frustrate her a bit,” said Torgerson.

Watauga’s Kaitlyn Darner (30) played her final Northwestern Conference tournament game with a highlight reel performance, including 10 points and, defensively, helping limit South Caldwell’s dynamic duo of freshman guards. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

The strategy worked, with the Spartans’ freshman point guard netting only 19 points on the night, well below her season average of close to 25 points per game. South Caldwell was able to shift some of its attack inside, where senior forward Kristin Barber recorded a team-high 20 points, but where Watauga arguably won the night was in defusing Wilks, who posted zero points, no assists, no steals and only two rebounds.

Meanwhile, Watauga was edging ahead even though also seeming to battle the game officials, too. There were controversial calls aplenty, against both sides, but when one of the teams (Watauga) consistently drives the lane or baseline and attacks the basket, fouls by the other side often occur. In this contest, the imbalance in personal fouls went the other way. Watauga was flagged 18 times, South Caldwell picked up only nine fouls.

Blair Haines (21) played a critical role in Watauga’s 72-48 win over South Caldwell on Feb. 21, to claim the tournament title for 2025. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

Two Pioneers, seniors Julie Matheson and Chloe Wilson, got into early foul trouble, finishing with four fouls each. Sears racked up three fouls. At one point, the second time a controversial call went against January’s “North Carolina Player of the Month,” one bystander said, “If they are not careful, they are going to make Kate mad and she will take over and score 50!”

By game’s end, Sears was more than halfway there, pouring in a game-high 31 points to go with 10 assists and six rebounds. Almost all of her points came from driving the lane or in-close shooting since she drew blanks from beyond the 3-point arc (0-for-6) and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

Blair Haines, Watauga’s sophomore guard, might want to send flowers to the left corner of the court, behind the arc. The spot was in love with Haines, allowing her to hit four critical 3-pointers that all but vanquished any Spartan hopes of a comeback.

Kate Sears was all smiles after her Watauga Pioneers won the Northwestern Conference Championship Tournament final, 72-48, vs. South Caldwell and she picked up tourney MVP honors, too. Photographic image by David Rogers for High Country Sports

Now sporting a 19-5 overall record, 10-1 in the Northwestern Conference and brandishing both regular season and conference tournament titles, the Pioneers await the seedings and first round pairings of the NCHSAA 4A Women’s State Championship playoffs. The first round is slated for Tuesday, Feb. 25, with the matchups to be announced Sunday evening (Feb. 23).