MT. ULLA — It probably shouldn’t matter what the rest of the SPC thinks of West Rowan’s girls basketball team.
What’s important is that the Falcons were pleased with their showing in Monday’s 64-56 loss to visiting Hickory Ridge.
“This was Senior Night,” sophomore Khaila Hall said after West (7-17, 5-11) closed its regular-season by losing for the sixth time in seven games. “Nothing was going to spoil that.”
The Falcons enjoyed some post-game sweets to celebrate the final home game for seniors Berkeley Alessandrini and Quanice Miller. But cake and icing couldn’t explain how they let a 35-33 third-quarter lead slip away.
“It’s a young team,” said first-year coach Ashley Poole. “Sometimes we have a hard time keeping that level of intensity. But we have three sophomores starting out there and they see, when they put it together, what they can do.”
Hall had a game-high 18 points for West and fellow soph Taylor Martin contributed 13. But it wasn’t enough to match the firepower of HR freshman Sydney Miller — a 6-foot-1 forward who returned after missing 15 games with an injury. Miller had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls (13-8, 11-5).
“She was a key,” said winning coach Tolonda Simmons. “She brought a lot of positive energy. She speeds the game up. I think she went coast-to-coast on three different layups.”
The game turned when HR scored the last nine points of the third quarter to take a 42-35 lead. Miller added seven points in the final quarter — including two on a stick-back that made it 61-48 with 2:08 remaining.
Martin’s 15-foot set shot in the waning seconds trimmed the deficit to eight. “That helped us finish on a high note, “ she said. “We know our season is coming to an end, but we’ve got to keep working hard.”
HICKORY RIDGE (64) — S.Miller 14, Davis 14, Brown 9, Evans 8, Means 8, McMarimen 6, Wallace 4, Ratliff 1.
WEST ROWAN (56) — Hall 18, Martin 13, Alessandrini 7, S.Miller 6, Q.Miller 4, Lovell 4, Cowan 2, Yow 2.
H. Ridge 16 12 14 22 — 64
W. Rowan 13 12 10 21 — 56