MOUNTULLA — In each of the last two years, West Rowan’s girls have ended
Central Cabarrus’ basketball season in state playoff games.
Friday night, the Falcons didn’t exactly end
Central’s amazing season, but they did put a stop to the Vikings’ dream of
an undefeated year in the 3A South Piedmont Conference.
West (16-7, 13-3) hammered Central 69-54 in a game
that was a shock to perhaps everyone but the Falcon girls and coaching staff.
The upset gives West the second seed for the upcoming conference tournament,
which is reasonably important. But far beyond that, it gave a five-member senior
class of Falcons a memory that will last a lifetime. On Senior Night, all five
started and all five played exceptionally well.
“They very truly played a wonderful game,” said
West head coach Angie Waddell. “They did everything I asked and they did it
for all 32 minutes.”
West’s hoops class of 2001 — Danielle Scearce,
Kristen McNeely, Sara Pieper, Shameeka Wansley and Jenny Sloop — is special to
Waddell, who started her career as varsity head coach when the current seniors
were freshmen.
“I’ve sort of watched them grow up,” said
Waddell. She watched them grow some more, as they went out and stunned the
Vikings (20-3, 15-1).
Scearce scored 21 points and simply had the game of
her life, dominating the inside. Waddell laughed and said it was like the ball
was attached to the girl that everyone calls “Red.”
“It was like every ball bounced to her all night,”
said Waddell. “Maybe because the ball is red, too.”
Wansley added 15 points and played her best ball
since the Falcons’ run in last season’s playoffs.
McNeely was huge on the defensive end, especially
early as West jumped ahead. McNeely had three first-quarter steals and played a
major role in Central’s 11 first-quarter turnovers from which it never fully
recovered.
Pieper made open shots and did a superb job of
passing the ball inside to Scearce and Wansley. Sloop, meanwhile, was the
backbone of the Falcons’ 1-3-1 defense, whether playing on the back with all
of her 5 feet, 6 inches, or playing out on the wing. Every loose ball was Sloop’s
property from start to finish.
It was easy to tell something was up, right from the
time the lineups were introduced. There was a look, a feel, a weird energy to
the West huddle.
“I didn’t say much,” said Waddell. “Because
they knew what they had to do.”
What West had to do was attack. Central is a very
aggressive team on both ends of the floor and most opponents are knocked back on
their heels. But this time, it was the Vikings who were knocked back from the
get-go.
“West was really well-prepared,” said Central
coach Angie Morton. “They match up well with us, because they’re just as
aggressive as we are. And tonight, they were even more aggressive. It was their
senior night and they were ready.”
West’s defensive intensity was stunning as the
game began. Central started 1-for-9 in addition to all those turnovers and the
Falcons were up 11-4 after a quarter.
Getting six points from Evan Miller and five more
from Serlethea Smith, Central settled in in the second quarter and trimmed West’s
lead to 19-16, but a turnaround by Wansley and a jumper by Pieper stopped the
Viking surge and the Falcons still led 26-17.
Everyone knew the key to the game would be the start
of the second half. West looked a bit tentative — as if it wanted to protect
that lead — on its first possession of the half, but that’s when Waddell
yelled, “Push the ball, keep pushing it!”
West would play to win. It would not play not to
lose. And it stayed on the attack.
Miller, the lefty junior who runs the show for
Central, got her fourth foul two minutes into the second half and had to sit.
“Without Evan on the floor, we’re just not the same team,” sighed Morton.
West’s lead reached 19 with 2:53 remaining when
freshman Hillary Hampton hit a jumper.
But then Central made a move, going on a 13-4 tear to get within 57-48 with 1:14 left.
But Pieper made a steal and Scearce and Hampton made foul shots as West refused to wilt.
“It’s going to be nice to see that one in the loss column for Central) and know it was us that put it there,” smiled Scearce. “We should have beaten them the first time we played them. We knew we had to win tonight, it being senior night, and we just never did let up.”
CENTRALCABARRUS (54) — Smith 19, Miller 13, Hardin 10, Morris 2, Killough 2, Harazim 2, Woodward 2, Johnston, Stamey, Van De Venter 4.
WESTROWAN (69) — Pieper 9, McNeely 4, Sloop 10, Wansley 14, Hampton 9, Moore, Jones 2, Dowdy, Scearce 21.
C.Cabarrus 4 13 16 21 — 54
W. Rowan 11 15 17 26 — 69
Today's News