High school basketball roundup: West Rowan splits
Published 12:54 am Saturday, December 8, 2018
Staff report
Friday’s games …
MOUNT ULLA — West Rowan’s girls won one of the highest-scoring games in program history, beating Lake Norman in overtime, 93-85.
West was up 13 heading to the fourth quarter, but the Wildcats rallied to force overtime. Lake Norman had a couple of chances to win in regulation.
Junior Abigail Wilson scored 39 points to lead the Falcons. That’s the fourth-highest scoring game in West history. Ayana Avery, the school’s all-time scoring leader, had games of 40, 41 and 42 points in 2010.
Wilson’s mother, Wendy Hampton Wilson, had one of the handful of 38-point games for West in 1994.
Mary Sobataka scored 19 for the Falcons (5-0). Whitley Arnott was 9-for-11 from the foul line and scored 13. Gabby Blabon made two 3-pointers and scored eight points. Taylor Poole also scored eight.
West needed all of that firepower to deal with the Wildcats (1-2), who had lost to West on opening night at Lake Norman in a much calmer contest, 65-54.
“We weathered the storm,” West head coach Ashley Poole said.
Lake Norman got huge games from Madison Saunders, who scored 29, and Lauren Sullivan, who had 27.
The game was tied at 77-all in regulation, and West put 16 more in the OT period.
“It’s another great team win,” Poole said. “We hit foul shots down the stretch and grabbed some big rebounds.”
West routed Mooresville, 100-44, in the 2002-03 season for the program scoring record.
LAKE NORMAN (85) — Saunders 29, Sullivan 27, Dancy 9, Erwin 6, Gaus 5, Lowe 4, Ziegler 2. Hardison 1.
WEST ROWAN (93) — Wilson 39, Sobataka 19, Arnott 13, Poole 8, Blabon 8, Pharr 4, Connolly 2.
Lake Norman 10 19 13 35 9 — 85
West Rowan 12 26 17 22 16 — 93
West boys
MOUNT ULLA — Hot shooting by Payne Stolsworth tried to lift West Rowan’s boys to their first win, but Lake Norman stormed from behind in the fourth quarter and took a 71-64 non-conference victory.
West (0-5) led by 12 with five minutes left, but couldn’t hold on. It was nearly a shocking upset. Lake Norman had beaten the Falcons at home, 82-35.
Stolsworth made six 3-pointers and scored a career-best 27 points. Zack Brawley had 10 for the Falcons. Davis Tadlock scored eight, and Jeriah Ford had seven.
Reese Rossi (20), Zane Haglan (18) and Zach Schultz (15) were the scoring leaders for the Wildcats (3-0), who scored 32 points in the fourth quarter.
LAKE NORMAN (71) — Rossi 20, Haglan 18, Schultz 15, Edmondson 7, Welsh 5, Adams 4, Hodges 2.
WEST ROWAN (64) — Stolsworth 27, Brawley 10, Tadlock 8, Ford 7, Joseph 6, Hassard 4, Butler 2, Weeks.
Lake Norman 6 16 17 32 — 71
West Rowan 10 16 18 20 — 64