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CLEMMONS—It didn’t matter that R.J.Reynolds switched away from its zone defense.
It didn’t even matter that Davie County’s Brittany Walker no longer brought the ball upcourt.
The junior guard still found a way to get the ball to her teammates in prime scoring position.
That’s when she wasn’t knocking down shots on her own.
Walker, one of four War Eagles to reach double figures, scored 11 points and dished out 10 assists on Wednesday night to lead No. 1 seed Davie County to a 55-33 win against the Demons in the CPC semifinals at West Forsyth.
Walker, Davie’s point guard, had a hand in 10 of the War Eagles’ first 12 field goals to help them build a 28-13 lead midway through the second quarter.
“Lately, I’ve been looking for Dawn (Singleton) down low. Everybody else was open tonight,”said Walker, who also had seven rebounds.
“I thought we moved the ball real well in the first half. I love to pass, so I’m always looking for the open person.”
Walker gave Davie a quick 3-2 lead with a jumper one minute into the game, then she assisted on the War Eagles’ next three baskets for a 10-2 advantage with 5:45 left in the first quarter.
Walker got another assist on a layup by Ashley Williams to put Davie ahead 14-4 before she scored two more baskets to give the War Eagles a 20-8 edge after one quarter.
The Demons, who had been playing a 1-1-3 zone, switched to a man-to-man defense in the second quarter. Allison Schafer often handled the ball, but Walker still registered three more assists in the first four minutes of the period.
Reynolds coach Chris Pinnix had hoped to keep the game close early so he could later use a triangle-and-two defense to shut down Walker and Sarah Williams.
Walker quickly foiled his plan.
“That was our only hope, to try and contain them,” Pinnix said. “But they got out to such a quick lead, we didn’t have an opportunity to really implement that scheme. Then we had to go man-to-man and just play catch up.”
Davie, which led 29-16 at the break, had been led by Walker’s eight points. Singleton scored six in the first half and finished with a game-high 15 on 5-for-6 shooting.
Singleton can thank Walker, who assisted on four of the center’s made field goals.
“Dawn and Brittany have developed an incredible sense of timing,”Davie coach Carol Cozart said.“Brittany is standing there holding the ball, waiting for the defense to commit a step. It just leaves (Dawn) wide open, and (Brittany) just launches it.”
Walker didn’t just set up Singleton for easy baskets. Walker assisted on three of Ashley Williams’ five makes.
Williams finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, and Sarah Williams totaled 12 points and four rebounds for the balanced War Eagle attack.
Davie did suffer a scare in the third quarter, when Reynolds cut the deficit to 31-23 with 4:19 left thanks to a slew of War Eagle turnovers.
But the Demons hit only one field goal the rest of the way as Davie outscored them 24-10 the rest of the way.
The War Eagles advanced to Friday’s finals with the win, and they will face the winner of tonight’s South Rowan-West Forsyth matchup.
“We got by with a little bit of letup tonight, but there can’t be any after this,”Cozart said.
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NOTES:Davie finished with 31 turnovers, compared with 22 for Reynolds. ... The War Eagles shot 19-37 from the field, and they had assists on 16 of the makes. ... Schafer didn’t score but had six rebounds. ... Mary Kroustalis led Reynolds with 12 points.
r.J. Reynolds (33) — Kroustalis 12, Asia Bristow 6, Ashley Bristow 6, Smith 6, Abramson 2, Watson 1, Brtan, Slechta, Holland, Bostick.
Davie County (55) — Singleton 15, S. Williams 12, A. Williams 11, Walker 11, Merlau 2, Erb 2, Petorini 2, Schafer, McDaniel, Long, Kahrs.
Reynolds 8 8 9 8 — 33
Davie Co. 20 9 9 17 — 55
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Contact Bret Strelow at 704-797-4258 or bstrelow@salisburypost.com
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