Spartans roll past WHS
Slow start puts

Pioneers behind early
By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com

SAWMILLS — A slow start proved to be too much for Watauga to overcome in a 51-37 loss to South Caldwell in the first round of the girls Northwestern 4-A Conference Tournament.

Watauga (11-13), which saw its three-game winning streak end, must wait until Saturday to learn whether it will play in the state 4-A tournament, or see its season come to a close. The Pioneers, seeded sixth in the NWC, could earn a wildcard berth in the expanded playoff bracket.

“They’re in a brand new territory,” Pioneers coach Klay Anderson said. “It’s been a long time since they’ve played a meaningful game this time of year. You’ve got to attribute some of it to new territory, but at the same time, we got in a deep hole that was hard to climb out of. At this time of year, you’re playing against good teams no matter where you go, but I’m still proud of them. I have no issue with their work ethic. We’ll go back and work hard and have a good time next week.”

South Caldwell (16-8) is already in the state tournament. The Spartans play Freedom in the second round of the NWC tournament Wednesday night at Freedom.

The winner takes on the winner of the McDowell-East Burke game, which is also Wednesday at Freedom.

Watauga struggled offensively, hitting just one shot from the field in a four-point first quarter and just four — two of them being stickbacks by Nicole Tesh and Sarah Miller. — in the second period. Watauga actually outrebounded the Spartans 40-27, but also turned the ball over 21 times.

“The heart and desire was there,” Pioneers coach Klay Anderson said. “We couldn’t execute enough times on the offensive end.”

South Caldwell never trailed, but didn’t really pull away from the Pioneers until the second half. Leading 20-15 at halftime, the Spartans went on a 10-2 run to claim a 30-17 lead that was never in jeopardy. Watauga, trailing 33-10, scored five straight points on an inside basket by Tesh and a 3-pointer by Christina Rees, but a foul shot by Brooklyn Boston gave the Spartans a 34-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

South Caldwell took its biggest lead, 18 points, two times in the fourth quarter. The final time was a 50-32 advantage after Matison Hall hit a bucket with inside a minute to play.

“I thought we did a better job defensively in the second half,” South Caldwell coach Jeff Parham said. “I felt like we did a much better job blocking out and offensively, we made better decisions. I feel like we’re coming along right now. We’ve got some momentum and that’s why we were excited about tonight’s game.
Watauga’s won three straight and they’re playing very well. To beat them, two teams going at it like that, says a lot.”

Tesh provided most of the offense for the Pioneers. The sophomore center finished with 14 points after making six baskets from the field. She also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds. Rebekah Pineda scored six points and Katherine Mayhew added five.

Matison Hall scored 18 points and Kayla Gross added 17 to lead the Spartans.

“You’ve got to give a lot of credit to Coach Parham,” Anderson said. “They did a great job forcing us into a lot of turnovers. They were undersized at the post and they got into some foul trouble, but they made a lot of jump shots and we didn’t have answers.”

South Caldwell 51, Watauga 37
Watauga (11-13)
Butler 0 0-1 0, Caldwell 1 0-0 3, Baird 0 0-0 0, R. Pineda 2 2-2 6, Creed 1 0-0 2, Tesh 6 2-6 14, Jones 0 0-0 0, Mayhew 1 3-3 5, Miller 1 0-2 2, Rees 1 0-0 3, E. Pineda 0 2-3 2. Totals 13 9-17 37.
South Caldwell (16-8)
Minton 0 3-4 3, Spencer 2 1-2 7, Hall 7 2-4 18, Gross 6 2-8 17, Boston 0 1-2 1, Williams 1 3-5 5, Lackey 0 0-0 0, Queen 0 0-0 0, Sharp 0 0-0 0, Wilson 0 0-0 0. Totals 16 12-25 51.
Watauga 4 11 9 13 — 37
South Caldwell 10 10 14 17 — 51
3-point goals—Watauga 2 (Caldwell, Rees), South Caldwell 7 (Gross 3, Hall 2, Spencer 2). Rebounds—Watauga 40 (Tesh 9), South Caldwell 27 (Williams, Minton 3). Turnovers—Watauga 21, South Caldwell 16. Total fouls—Watauga 17, South Caldwell 16. Fouled out—None. Technical fouls—None.