By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
MOCKSVILLE ó Davie County guard Amy Steller should have a mailbox address of 15 Feet From the Basket, Unguarded, Davie County Gym, Mocksville, NC., 27028.
Steller lives at the foul line, and her frequent presence there sent West Rowanís girls to an unexpected defeat on Friday. Steller got 14 of her 26 points on free throws, and the War Eagles beat the visiting Falcons 59-47 for their first victory.
Steller entered the contest averaging 17.2 points per game, in large part because she shot 39 free throws in Davieís first five games. The 5-foot-7 junior was awarded an astounding 22 free throws on Friday.
ěSheís great at drawing fouls,î Davie coach Denny Key said.
Fouls were pivotal for West, as well, although in a negative way. Thereís such a huge difference in the Falcons with 6-foot-2 shot-blocker Shay Steele on the floor ó or not on the floor ó that everyone West (1-2) plays tries to get her in foul trouble.
Davie (1-5) succeeded.
ěSure, itís one of the things we talked about,î Key said. ěYouíve got a lot better chance if you can get No. 14 (Steele) out of there.î
Davie led 17-14 after a quarter, and Steele picked up her second foul in the first minute of the second quarter. That put West coach Todd McNeely in a tough spot, and he opted to sit Steele the rest of the half.
West made only one field goal in that pivotal second quarter, and Davie led 28-20 at halftime.
Steele immediately blocked two shots as the second half got under way, but she picked up her third foul with 4:45 left in the third, trying to make a steal at halfcourt.
ěSure, weíd like for Shay to stay out of foul trouble,î McNeely said. ěBut at the same time, you canít take her aggressiveness away.î
With Steele spending so much time on the bench, guard Nene Dixon carried Westís offense with 17 points, but her night ended with 3:13 left in the game when she and Davie guard Laura Shelton, who scored 16 points of her own, got physical, and a double foul was whistled.
Davie got hustling efforts on the boards from 5-9 Emeral Gadson and 5-11 Asiah Peterson. They combined to yank down 24 boards against the taller Falcons.
Alison Dutton scored six early points for West and finished with eight. But no one else really ever got it going.
ěWe were a little flat,î McNeely said. ěAnd apparently we made Davie play very well. They didnít look like a winless team tonight.î
West won 61-51 when the teams played Tuesday in Mount Ulla.
ěWe shot the ball better, and this was just our night,î Key said. ěItís a big monkey off our back.î
WEST ROWAN (47) ó Dixon 17, Steele 10, Dutton 8, Ball 6, Sobataka 2, Barber 2, James 2, Landy, Ramsue, Cross, Harrington, Hunter, Miller.
DAVIE (59) ó Steller 26, Shelton 16, Wooten 7, Gadsen 5, Peterson 4, Bohannon, Jones.
W. Rowan 14 6 13 14 ó 47
Davie 17 11 12 19 ó 59