WINSTON-SALEM — South Rowan was great, but a girl from Mocksville was even greater here Thursday night.
Heather Schleupner of Mount Tabor scored a career-high and school-record 38 points as the top-seeded Spartans held off third-seeded South 77-71 in the championship basketball game of the 4A Central Piedmont Conference Tournament at R.J. Reynolds High School.
Schleupner, who played for Davie County as a sophomore and still lives in Mocksville, has had South’s number all season, especially in the second half last night, when she poured in 27 of her team’s 38 points.
“It was my last chance as a senior to win a conference tournament, and I wanted to go out a winner,” said Schleupner. “Last year we lost in the final game (to R.J. Reynolds), and this year I didn’t want to lose it.”
Schleupner, who topped her own school record of 37 set against South on Jan. 9, didn’t know she had scored 38 this time.
“I knew I had a lot of free throws, but I didn’t think I had 38,” said Schleupner, who went 12-for-24 on field goals with a 3-pointer and 13-for-14 at the foul line, where she missed her last attempt of the night. She also had 11 rebounds.
“She’s got tremendous heart. ... She’s a player for them,” said South coach James Greene. “I thought that we would get every rebound that we wanted. I thought we were going to be able to hold her, but knowing that, in the fourth quarter, she steps up. She won’t allow her team to lose.”
Schleupner’s show overshadowed an amazing night by South’s 6-foot-1 freshman Sade Jordan. Playing in only her third varsity game after a promotion from the jayvees, Jordan had a game-high 23 rebounds and 19 points. Twenty of her rebounds and 17 points came in the first three quarters.
“I knew that she needed a little bit of jayvee. She needed that experience,” Greene said, “because she didn’t think she could play varsity. We brought her along on the jayvee squad. I knew that she was ready. She told me a couple of weeks ago that she was ready.”
Junior post player Brittney Gaddy, the team’s season scoring leader, contributed 18 points, sophomore point guard Katie Willett had 10 points and seven assists, and freshman post player Alexis Blackwood added eight points and 14 boards.
South led for less than a minute all night, going ahead 50-49 on Willett’s 3-pointer with 1:10 left in the third quarter. Jordan added a free throw for a 51-49 South lead.
It was almost all Schleupner after that. She scored the last basket of the third period and the first basket of the fourth quarter. Her shot with five minutes left put the Spartans up 64-57.
South, however, kept fighting back. Six points by reserve guard Sheena Culbertson kept it close. Even after Gaddy fouled out with 2:38 to go with her team down four, South battled back to within two points three times. Culbertson’s two foul shots with 46 seconds left pulled the Raiders within 73-71.
Schleupner countered with two free throws at the 40-second mark, then the Spartans got the ball back and Meika Reeves added another foul shot. It was 76-71 with 13 seconds left. Schleupner added the final point.
Coach Dennis Ring of Mount Tabor said he could see a big difference in Greene’s Raiders over several months.
“The first game we played them (85-68 Mount Tabor win), they had trouble getting the ball across halfcourt against our pressure. The second game (63-47 win), we actually had to get out of our fullcourt pressure and go back to halfcourt, where we played pretty well,” said Ring.
“This game, we didn’t ever have a chance at picking them up. Twenty-two (Willett) did a good job of getting the ball upcourt. It was a great game plan: Get the ball upcourt and somehow try to get it up near the board. Those three girls (Jordan, Gaddy and Blackwood) were going to go get it. I thought the girl that came up from the jayvees did a wonderful job,” said Ring, who has no player taller than 5-8.
Both teams head into the sectional playoffs next week. Mount Tabor (14-11) has a first-round bye, while South (7-18) hosts the No. 3 team from the Northwestern Conference at 7 p.m. Monday.
“They are going to give somebody trouble,” said Ring of the Raiders. “I guarantee you somebody’s going to look at their record and say, ‘Well, this is going to be a walk-over’ and look to the second round. That would be a mistake. They’ve got the ability. They just scored 71 points.”
“I think the kids gave me everything they had. I think the whole team gave me 110 percent that we asked for,” said Greene. “I’m proud of this team’s effort.
“We’ll get back to practice tomorrow and we’ll work and we’ll get ready for whoever we play on Monday night. It will be between McDowell and East Burke.”
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NOTES: Mount Tabor went 25-for-70 (35.7 percent) on field goals and 23-for-36 at the foul line. South was 27-for-71 (38 percent) from the floor and 14-for-24 at the line. ... South had a 49-44 rebound advantage.
SOUTH ROWAN (71) — Khan, Efird 2, Blackwood 8, Willett 10, Parker 5, Gaddy 18, Jordan 19, Yost 1, Raper, Culbertson 8, Russell.
MOUNT TABOR (77) — Schleupner 38, Crafton 2, Goolsby 10, Allen 8, Simmons 1, Caldwell 4, Reeves 7, Bethea 2, Herb 5, Nitz.
S. Rowan 13 19 19 20 — 71
Mt. Tabor 18 21 12 26 — 77
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