WHS girls roll

past W. Stokes
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

It took about a quarter, but Watauga’s girls’ basketball team did what a 4-A program is supposed to do to a team that has just six players show up for a game.

The Pioneers outscored West Stokes by 14 points in the second quarter and never looked back in its 58-34 victory in the first round of the Watauga Classic Thursday at Lentz-Eggers Gym.

West Stokes (4-9), because of holiday travel, suspensions and other reasons, had just three varsity players on its roster available to play against the Pioneers. The Wildcats brought up three jayvee players to give them six for the game.

They finished with five on the court as one Wildcats, Kristen Mitchell, fouled out. It didn’t matter since the Pioneers were in front 50-33 when it happened.

Watauga coach Klay Anderson did not run the score up on West Stokes, but the Pioneers’ usual way of substituting as many as five players at a time helped wear down the Wildcats.

“It worked well for us tonight,” Anderson said. “We felt like we had good even fives that we could sub. Anytime you play a team that is lower than you in numbers, you’re going to try to run them and let the fatigue set in.”

The Wildcats showed some heart in making a run at the Pioneers early in the fourth quarter. Watauga took a 44-25 lead into the fourth, but West Stokes, helped by four foul shots, opened the period with an 8-0 run and pulled to 44-33 with 6:17 left in the game

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However, Watauga took over from there by outscoring the Wildcats 9-0 in the next six minutes. The game-clinching run was capped by a stickback by Emily Pineda off a missed foul shot. Sarah Miller actually made her first free throw, but missed her second. It allowed Pineda to complete the two-player, three-point play.

Watauga 58, West Stokes 34
West Stokes (4-9)
Hawks 1 3-4 6, Denny 1 0-0 2, Mitchell 0 2-4 2, Brown 5 5-8 16, Rierson 1 2-2 4, Fox 1 2-4 4. Totals 9 14-22 34.
Watauga (5-5)
Butler 1 0-0 2, Baird 4 0-1 10, R. Pineda 3 0-0 6, Creed 0 2-4 2, Tesh 6 0-5 12, Jones 2 0-0 4, E. Pineda 3 0-0 6, Mayhew 3 4-5 10, Miller 1 2-3 4, Rees 1 0-0 2. Totals 24 8-18 58.
West Stokes 4 8 13 9 — 34
Watauga 8 22 14 14 — 58
3-point goals—West Stokes 2 (Hawks, Brown), Watauga 2 (Baird 2). Turnovers—West Stokes 21, Watauga 12. Total fouls—West Stokes 17, Watauga 19. Fouled out—Mitchell.