High school girls basketball: West stays undefeated in SPC
Published 11:03 pm Sunday, February 11, 2024
- West Rowan’s Tiara Thompson brings the ball up court during a Falcons' win over the J.M. Robinson Bulldogs. Photo Credit: Sean Meyers
Staff report
CONCORD — West Rowan’s girls basketball team beat Robinson 59-34 on Friday to clinch first place and moved another step closer to back-to-back unblemished seasons in the South Piedmont Conference.
Two months ago it looked like the game at Robinson would be the toughest SPC challenge for the Falcons, but only one of the Bulldogs’ three standouts was in the lineup when the contest finally arrived. Ella Hobbs and Li’Ara Batts were out, and Camri Hobbs wasn’t going to be able to beat West as a solo act.
Hobbs is always tough and scored 22 points to reach 1,000 points for her career as a sophomore, but West got big nights from Emma Clarke (20 points) and Lauren Arnold (17) and breezed to victory.
It was a very low-scoring game for the Falcons (20-1, 14-0) mostly because Robinson (15-5, 11-3) stayed back in a zone, and West, with a big lead, was content to pass the ball around.
Clarke dominated in the early stages. She had eight points, four rebounds, three assists and a block in the first quarter. Other than Clarke, the Falcons didn’t shoot well at the outset. They didn’t make a shot outside the paint until Arnold hit a 3-pointer from the left side for a 20-7 lead. Clarke’s fourth bucket made it 22-7 after a quarter.
Clarke continued to crush the Bulldogs in the second quarter with nine more points and four more rebounds. Makaylah Tenor and Tiara Thompson made 3s, and the Falcons took a 38-22 lead to halftime.
Hobbs scored nine of Robinson’s 15 in the second quarter and six of the Bulldogs’ eight in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs lacked the firepower to launch any sort of comeback.
Clarke, who is closing in on 1,000 career points, was quieter in the second half, but Mars Hill recruit Arnold, who will reach the 1,500-point milestone soon, took over, powering in layups with Bulldogs hanging all over her.
West finishes the regular season with a Senior Night game against South Rowan and a trip to second-place Northwest Cabarrus.
West 22 16 14 7 — 59
Robinson 7 15 8 4 — 34
WEST — Clarke 20, Arnold 17, Tenor 9, Thompson 6, Edwards 6, Wilson 1.
ROBINSON — C. Hobbs 22, Lindsey 5, Smith 5, Young 2.
