ACR win Taylor-made
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

ASHEVILLE — It seemed that whenever A.C. Reynolds needed some points, the Rockets turned to point guard Karlee Taylor.

It’s no wonder. Taylor made five 3-point baskets and scored 29 points in the Rockets’ 64-53 victory over Watauga Friday night.

As good as Taylor was from the outside, it was her free throw shooting that iced the game for the Rockets. Leading 54-50, Taylor hit 7-of-8 free throws, the final one coming with 23.5 seconds left, to ice the win.

Whitney Brinkley, who scored 17 points, added two foul shots just one possession before Taylor got to the line. Her foul shots gave the Rockets a near-perfect 9-of-10 accurcy during the final 2:12 of the game.

A.C. Reynolds converted 16-of-22 foul shots, compared to 11-of-18 for Watauga.

“You’ve got to give credit where credit is due,” Watauga coach Klay Anderson said. “Both teams played a good ballgame. The fact of the matter is Reynolds, in the last three minutes, made more shots than we did.”

Watauga struggled with its offense in the final 2:37. Nicole Tesh scored on a stickback, and Chandler Butler hit 1-of-2 foul shots to pull Watauga to within 52-50. Just two minutes earlier, Tesh tied the game at 47-47 with a basket.

But Watauga would struggle offensively the rest of the game.

The Pioneers missed four of their final five shots, the lone exception being a Sarah Caldwell 3-pointer with 16.5 seconds left. Watauga also turned the ball over three times in the final 2:37 of the game.

“We missed about three shots in the final three minutes that I thought were good shots,” Anderson said.

“Their girls stepped up and made shots, and once they got a six-point lead. Then we still missed a couple when we had the opportunities, and they made their free throws.”

Taylor and Brinkley accounted for 46 of the Rockets’ 64 points. Watauga’s scoring proved to be a bit more balanced. Emily Pineda and Tesh each finished with 10 points, while Caldwell and Ashlyn Baird each scored nine. Rebekah Pineda added eight points.

Watauga held a 13-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Rockets opened the second quarter with a 10-0 run until Tesh hit a pair of foul shots with 4:31 to stop the bleeding. Watauga trailed 27-13, but came back with a 12-3 run and trailed 30-25 at halftime.

The Pioneers play at East Burke Tuesday and host Alexander Central Friday night.

A.C. Reynolds girls 64, Watauga 53
Watauga
Butler 0 1-2 1, Caldwell 3 1-2 9, Baird 3 2-2 9, R. Pineda 4 0-0 8, Creed 0 0-0 0, Tesh 4 2-6 10, Jones 0 1-2 1, E. Pineda 3 4-4 10, Miller 1 0-0 2, Rees 1 0-0 3, Mayhew 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 11-18 53.
A.C. Reynolds
Taylor 7 10-11 29, Robinson 3 0-0 7, Lopez 1 1-4 3, Smith 2 0-0 4, Travers 0 2-2 2, Brinkley 7 3-5 17, Cabral 1 0-0 2, Stafford 0 0-0 0, Bidwell 0 0-0 0. Totals 21 16-22 64.
Watauga 13 12 13 15 — 53
A.C. Reynolds 12 18 12 22 — 64
3-point goals—Watauga 4 (Caldwell 2, Baird, Rees), A.C. Reynolds 6 (Taylor 5, Robinson). Turnovers—Watauga 20, A.C. Reynolds 23. Total fouls—Watauga 17, A.C. Reynolds 15. Technical fouls—None.