From staff reports

Tuesday playoff games …

WALLBURG — Free throws clanged and turnovers sailed, and East Rowan lost a 3A West first-round playoff game that it had every chance to win at Ledford.

The 15th-seeded Panthers beat the 18th-seeded Mustangs 52-48 mostly because in a game where a ton of free throws were shot, Ledford made a better percentage.

“We were just kind of out of whack tonight,’ East head coach Bri Evans said. “We did have a lot of turnovers and most of them didn’t have to happen. They weren’t forced. They were self-inflicted.”

East was in the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. The last playoff victory for the Mustangs was in the second round on the road at Pisgah 10 years ago.

Mary Church opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and Savannah Wise jumped off the bench for a couple of buckets, but East had a rocky first quarter and got behind 16-8.

Church’s 12-point second quarter got East back in it. Church made a 3-pointer for a 25-24 lead, and the Mustangs took a 27-26 lead to the break.

Almost every bucket meant a lead change in an exciting third quarter. Church split two free throws for a 40-39 East lead heading to the fourth quarter.

East (21-7) was in good shape to get the road win, but experienced a frustrating, eight-point fourth quarter. Church’s only point in the quarter came when a Panther shoved Kady Collins and was hit with a technical foul. Church made one of the two technicals for a 45-43 East lead, but that was the last time the Mustangs were ahead.

Ledford (20-6) scored the next seven points to take charge, cashing in repeatedly from the foul line.

Lily Kluttz made the last bucket of the season for East to cut the deficit to 52-48.

Church scored 19. Wise scored eight. Sadie Featherstone scored seven and blocked three shots.

East Rowan    8    19  13   8   — 48

Ledford          16    10  13   13   — 52

EAST scoring – Church 19, Wise 8, Featherstone 7, Kluttz 6, Smith 4, Collins 4.

•••

LEXINGTON — Lexington beat Salisbury for the fourth time in a 2A West first-round matchup of Central Carolina Conference rivals.

Seventh-seeded Lexington had a pretty awful start. It was 3-all four minutes into the game, but then Jayla Cowan got hot for the Yellow Jackets.

A long 3 by Cowan broke the tie and put Lexington ahead to stay. She made another deep one for an 11-3 lead, and the Yellow Jackets (21-4) were headed to a 28-17 halftime lead.

It was still a competitive game most of the way— the 26th-seeded Hornets trailed 32-25 late in the third quarter — but that’s when Cowan banked in a 3-pointer for a 35-25 lead.

Lexington overwhelmed Salisbury in the fourth quarter, 21-3, to win by 30.

The Hornets (13-11) were 5-for-27 from the foul line to erase any chance they had of winning on Lexington’s home floor.

Cowan made six 3s and scored 24 for the Yellow Jackets. Makayla Bobo had 21, while Lily Ervin scored 10.

Torese Evans led the Hornets with eight points.

“We missed some layups that could have changed things and our free throws were a problem all season long,” Salisbury head coach Lakai Brice said. “But I was proud of this team’s effort. We did some good things this season.”

Salisbury    6    11   11   3   — 31

Lexington   12  16  12   21  — 61

Salisbury — Evans 8, Fatovic 5, Myers 5, Spruill 4, McNeely 4, Fomond 4, Pearson-Hasty 1.

Lexington — Cowan 24, Bobo 21, Ervin 10, Fosso 3, Johnson 2, Dearmon 1.

•••

KERNERSVILLE — Bishop McGuinness’ 2000-point scorer and NC State recruit Adelaide Jernigan didn’t just make her first 3-point attempts against North Rowan, her shots barely even moved the cords.

Those shots were bull’s-eyes, dead center, and the Villains led the Cavaliers 11-0 barely two minutes into a first-round 1A state playoff game. It was 16-0 before Krisstyle Stockton scored on a stick-back for the Cavaliers  midway through the first quarter, and McGuinness cruised to a 73-25 victory.

It was the sort of mismatch you’d expect in the 1 vs. 32 game in the bracket.

North (5-18) gave McGuinness all it wanted last season in a 51-44 season-ending loss, but that was a North team that had Brittany Ellis and the Goodlett twins.

Jernigan’s coming-out party as one of the state’s deadliest shooters occurred in the North Rowan gym when she was a freshman. McGuinness won that one 66-47 against a really strong North team that had Ellis, the Goodletts, Hannah Wilkerson and Chloee Stoner, plus Dasia Elder and Stockton coming off the bench.

Elder and Stockton are the Cavaliers’ stars now. They scored nine apiece in North’s third playoff loss to McGuinness during their high school careers. Stockton had six rebounds.

Elder played the last nine games on one healthy knee. She was injured in the South Stanly game and has surgery coming up next month.

Jenna Moore added 16 points for the Villains (24-2).

North Rowan     3    9    9    4   — 25

McGuinness     28   22  17   6   — 73

NORTH scoring — Elder 9, Stockton 9, Oglesby-Peck 4, Robinson 2, McArthur 1.