By Bret Strelow
bstrelow@salisburypost.com
Davie County’s girls claimed third place in the Sam Moir Christmas Classic by outplaying Carson for three crucial minutes.
Taliah Holland made a tiebreaking layup and Davie pulled away for a 45-39 victory against the Cougars, who lost by 27 points against the War Eagles in a season-opening matchup on Nov. 21.
“It was a very big improvement from the first game,” Carson coach Brooke Misenheimer said. “We felt like it would be a much better game because we had improved since that first game.
“We were in the game the whole time, possession for possession, to the very end. We had critical turnovers and some missed shots. Just some key, critical mistakes that hurt us.”
Carson (5-9) led 18-10 midway through the second quarter and took a three-point edge to the fourth quarter. Tyesha Phillips fed Breckin Settlemyer for a layup that forged a 37-all tie with 4:21 left, but Holland pushed Davie (9-2) ahead for good with 3:29 remaining.
That basket began an 8-0 run that finally ended when Carson’s Allison Blackwell banked in a shot in the closing seconds.
“Everything has been a learning experience,” Misenheimer said. “Here it’s a tight game the entire game, and there’s obviously more pressure in the last couple of minutes. We just did not come through the way we would have liked to.”
The Cougars committed six turnovers and attempted only two shots after falling behind with 31/2 minutes left. Carson still trailed 39-37 when Settlemyer missed a baseline runner with 46 seconds left, and Davie’s Janna Dixon made both ends of a one-and-one.
Carson turned the ball over, and Kaycee Dixon went 2-for-2 in another one-and-one situation.
“We were able to do enough to keep ourselves in the game and not let our frustration level get too far down,” Davie coach Debbie Evans said. “The biggest thing, we were able to execute the last three minutes like we needed to. That’s the first close game we’ve won this year. Either we haven’t been in a close game or we haven’t been able to win one.”
Carson, which went almost an entire half without a field goal in a semifinal loss to Salisbury, needed only 12 seconds to take the lead Wednesday on a 3-pointer from Kaylene Livengood.
The Cougars were effective with a 2-2-1 press, but Davie erased an eight-point deficit with an 11-0 run that included Carson at one point failing to convert a 3-on-0 fastbreak.
A pair of 3-pointers from Chloe Monroe in the last 58 seconds of the second quarter gave the Cougars a 24-21 halftime lead.
“We felt like our defense really created a lot for us,” Misenheimer said. “The first quarter, we made some good decisions moving the ball and getting the open shot. I thought the best part of the first half was our defense.”
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NOTES: Monroe and Settlemyer led Carson with 10 points apiece. Monroe had four steals, and Livengood grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. … Janna Dixon led a balanced Davie attack with nine points and five steals. Ten different War Eagles scored.
CARSON (39) ó Settlemyer 10, Monroe 10, K.Livengood 8, Blackwell 7, Dulkoski 2, Phillips 2, Heggins, Brown, Cloninger, M.Livengood.
DAVIE COUNTY (45) ó J.Dixon 9, Holland 8, Clement 6, Steed 6, K.Dixon 4, Stevenson 3, Shelton 3, Smoot 2, Hendricks 2, Turner 2, Stellar, Tucker.
Carson 11 13 8 7 ó 39
Davie Co. 8 13 8 16 ó 45