By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Watauga women’s basketball was defeated by Charlotte Catholic, 60-49, on Feb. 28, in the quarterfinals of the 2023 North Carolina High School Athletic Association 4A Women’s Basketball Championship tournament. If there is any consolation, they “won” the second half, 39-29.
“In the fourth round of the state playoffs, you have to play all four quarters,” said Watauga head coach Laura Barry after the game. “Tonight, we didn’t do that. Credit Charlotte Catholic.”
The visiting Cougars used a smothering, physical defense and opportunistic, balanced offense in the first half to march out to a dominating, 31-10 lead at halftime. The defensive effort kept the Watauga shooters off balance, the close contact style disrupting the Pioneer shooters at every turn.
It didn’t help that the Charlotte Catholic starters included “twin towers” in 6-5 center Blanca Thomas (ranked No. 9 nationally in the Class of 2024 by HoopGurlz Recruiting) and 6-1 Gracynn Gough, both juniors. Thomas (22 points) and Gough (11) accounted for more than half of the Cougars’ 60 points of offensive production.
The presence of the Cougar duo in the defensive paint made it particularly challenging for Watauga guards Kate Sears and Charlotte Torgerson to attack the basket down the lane or along the baseline. And where they were able to kick the ball out to an open teammate on the perimeter, the Cougars applied immediate pressure to would-be shooters. They simply couldn’t get much going in the first half, Sears limited to just 5 points and Torgerson held scoreless.
Some of that was explained by a lengthy stretch early in the first quarter when Sears left the court with a dislocated finger on her left hand (she is primarily a left handed shooter). She re-entered the game late in the opening quarter with the finger wrapped in black tape. Whether Sears was feeling any pain from the injury, she didn’t show it — and gamely played through any discomfort — but many of her shots were off the mark, whether from behind the 3-point arc or attacking the basket in the paint. Even though she managed a team-high 16 points (thanks to 11 in the second half), it was well below her season average of 21.2 points per game.
Held scoreless in the first half, Torgerson led the Pioneers with 15 points in the second half.
If there were offensive “sparks” for Watauga in the second half, they came from two players not named Sears or Torgerson. Sophomore guard Julie Matheson came off the bench to hit a pair of critical 3-pointers, one each in the the third and fourth quarters, while senior Caroline Farthing scored from both inside and outside in the second half, including a resounding 3-pointer in the fourth quarter.
Down by 21 at halftime, Watauga was able to claw back to within six points midway through the fourth quarter, threatening a run largely sparked or sustained by Matheson and Farthing.
After the game, Charlotte Catholic head coach Bobby Conrad was understandably feeling good about his Cougars’ team performance.
“I thought, defensively, in the first half we played our best half of the year. Kate Sears is a helluva player and we did a nice job of just containing her. We also did a good job of running Watauga off the 3-point line and rebounding,” said Conrad. “Our defensive intensity set the tone and it frustrated them for awhile, at least in the first half.”
Of Sears’ dislocated finger, Conrad had nothing but praise.
“She is a warrior and she was fighting through it,” said Conrad. “Great players, when the game is on the line like in the second half, they don’t feel pain. I’m sure she does, but she sure didn’t play like it.”
About Watauga’s second half comeback, Conrad was candid.
“They threw a couple of things at us that got us out of our rhythm a little bit but they also made some shots in the second half that they weren’t making in the first half. In the third quarter, I didn’t think we did a good job of stopping the ball. They beat us in transition,” admitted Conrad. “That gave them hope and it gave them belief and they built on that. We played the fourth quarter OK except missing 15 free throws.”
Compared to the Watauga team that Charlotte Catholic faced in late December, in the Cherokee tournament, Conrad had nothing but praise for the Pioneers.
“First of all, this was a different environment, in this gym. I watched a lot of film on Watauga this week. They play hard and they move the ball so well,” said Conrad. “It is a little trickier when you are playing back to back tournament games and you are staying over in a hotel. The time to better prepare was evident tonight. Both teams were a little more organized. Defensively, they put a lot of pressure on us.”
Summing up the Charlotte Catholic success against Watauga in this game, Conrad said, “We have a couple of guards who I think can guard anybody around. And if you beat them, then you are staring at a 6-1 forward (Gough) and 6-5 center (Thomas) in the paint. And Gough may be our best shooter. She powers inside and finishes and she can shoot threes from the outside.”
Watauga’s Barry said, “You can’t dig a hole for yourself as big as we did in the first half. Charlotte Catholic has their weapons and I thought we did a better job in the second half taking those weapons away, but early… you have to score.
“We just didn’t look like ourselves or how we wanted to at the jump, on the offensive end,” said Barry. “You have to credit Charlotte Catholic and their approach to defense. It bothered us. And having a 6-5 center hovering in the paint really bothered us and we didn’t get any open looks from behind the 3-point arc early, or at least not enough. If you told me we were only going to get 10 points in the half, I would not have expected it.”
Barry reserved some of her highest praise for Farthing, Matheson, and Laurel Kiker.
“I thought Farthing and Kiker were very focused, defensively, and did what we needed them to do from the jump,” Barry said. “And for Julie (Matheson) to come off the bench cold and do what she does, is big. She has been used sparingly all season but she is a kid who wants to be out there. When she has that moment, she doesn’t shy away from it one bit. It shows a lot for her future. I am excited for Julie Matheson next year.”
Kiker suffered a blow to the head, an elbow under the basket delivered by the Cougars’ Thomas in the critical fourth quarter. It was an unintentional hit, but the senior guard lay on the court, sobbing in pain for several minutes while coaches and an athletic trainer tended to her, eventually helping her to her feet and able to walk off the court on her own. After the game she told High Country Sports that she had a concussion and since she had suffered previous concussions, she was unlikely to transition to soccer in the spring, as she normally does.
With the loss, the Watauga women’s basketball season has come to a close and the student athletes will focus on competing for the Pioneer soccer, track, softball or lacrosse teams. Some will play travel ball while others will simply focus on their spring academic classes.
With the win, Charlotte Catholic advances to the so-called “Final Four.” First will be a 4A West bracket championship game vs. 26-0 Lake Norman on Saturday, March 4. Lake Norman defeated North Mecklenburg, 57-50, on Feb. 28.
The site for the 4A West championship game has not yet been announced, but the pre-playoffs information package suggests that the potential sites include A C Reynolds (Asheville), Freedom (Morganton), McDowell (Marion), Providence (Charlotte) or Grimsley (Greensboro).
The winner of the West championship will meet the winner of the East championship game between No. 1 seeded Hillside (Durham) and No. 3 seeded Panther Creek (Cary). All of the state championship games, including 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A will be played March 11, at Reynolds Coliseum, NC State and at the Smith Center, UNC-Chapel Hill.
SCORING SUMMARY
- CC Blanca Thomas (22 points)
- WAT Kate Sears (16)
- WAT Charlotte Torgerson (15)
- CC Gracynn Gough (11)
- CC Aniyah Scales (10)
- CC Olivia Fava (9)
- WAT Caroline Farthing (7)
- WAT Julie Matheson (6)
- CC Harper Mckain (4)
- WAT Laurel Kiker (3)
- WAT Brooke Scheffler (2)
- CC Kate McArdle (2)
- CC Maggie Kernodle (2)
BONUS PHOTOS
