McDowell rolls

past WHS
By Daniel Clark
Special to the Democrat

The Watauga girl’s basketball team knew that they could not turn the ball over and expect to beat the Northwestern 4-A Conference’s number one team, especially on the road.

However, the Pioneers were forced into 17 first half turnovers and the McDowell Titans ran away with an 82-44 win Saturday nightMarion.

In a game that was postponed to Saturday due to the ice storm that hit the high country Friday, Watauga (8-12, 1-8) could never get on track. The Pioneers trailed by as many as 16 in the first half, and failed to get into any rhythm offensively. Emily Pineda scored 15 points and twin sister Rebekah Pineda scored six for the Pioneers to combine for 21 of Watauga’s 23 first half points.

“Emily and Bekah played really well,” Watauga coach Klay Anderson said. “Both have been on varsity for three years and they are fighting tooth and nail as the season winds down. We knew we had to take it right at (Xandi) Gellman because she just wanted to play tall and we did that early.”

McDowell (16-3, 8-0) was also hit by the turnover bug early, committing seven in the first half. However, the Pioneers could not capitalize. The Titan’s were able to break down the Pioneer’s defensively for some open shots early but could not get them to fall.

“I am not upset with my girls effort,” Anderson said. “McDowell is number one in our league for a reason and they showed it tonight. They were really good in the half court, but there game is to get it up and down the floor and run. We played well in the first half intensity wise but their were times where we got a key defensive stand but could not execute offensively.”

McDowell started the second half with a 16-0 run to push their lead to 52-23 and never looked back from there. The Titans lead by as many as 42 in their victory victory.

“Their run took the wind out of our sails,” Anderson said. “We didn’t quit, I think the shock value just sat in.”

Emily Pineda ended with 15 points, while Bekah Pineda finished with nine. Christina Rees had her second highest scoring output of the season with nine. Sarah Miller added seven points.

The Titans were lead by NWC Player of the Year candidate Kurie Washington with 24 points. Ebonique Hamilton had 17 and Kelsea Greene added 11.

The Pioneers open its final home stand of the year Tuesday night, when they host AC Reynolds at Lentz-Eggers Gym.

“Basically in Asheville, the game came down to the last four minutes and they just made a few more stops than we did,” Anderson said. “I feel good about Reynolds; I think we can match up against them well.

There’s no doubt that we have to defend the three point shot a little better but at the same time we have to make shots too. We have to believe in ourselves and I think playing at home helps a ton.”