Staff report
LANDIS — West Rowan’s girls basketball team is still undefeated.
The Falcons won 62-31 at South Rowan on Friday in South Piedmont Conference action. This was the second meeting of the season between the teams. The first meeting was in the championship game of the Dale’s Sporting Goods Sam Moir Christmas Classic. The Falcons won 52-34 on the big floor at Catawba College.
West basically settled Friday’s outcome with a dominant first quarter. The Falcons led the Raiders 19-4 after eight minutes, and it was 34-13 at halftime.
“We had a very big night on Tuesday (a huge win for first place vs. Northwest Cabarrus), so we didn’t want to take a step back,” West head coach Ashley Poole said. “We wanted to make sure to keep the energy and intensity up, and we did that. I was proud of the effort we had.”
Tiara Thompson, as usual, was the spearhead for the Falcons (15-0, 6-0). She made four 3-pointers, went 6-for-7 at the foul line and scored 24 points in three quarters.
In her three seasons as a Falcon, Thompson now has scored 1,150 points. She’s passed Emma Clarke and Mary Sobataka on West’s career scoring list in recent games and will soon be in the top 10 all-time for the program. De’Mya Phifer (Class of 2024) is currently 10th with 1,186 points.
Thompson also has a shot at breaking the Falcons’ record for scoring average in a season. Abigail Wilson set that record with 26.2 points per game in 2019-20.
Sydney Smith made two 3s and added 14 points for the Falcons. Luci Pharr had one of her best games with eight points.
Dabrianna Pharr led the Raiders (10-5, 3-3) with 12 points. Nine girls scored for South, but no one else had more than five points.
“We saw a lot of good things on the court,” South head coach Alex Downs said. “But it was a tough night. It was one of those nights we couldn’t put the ball in the basket.”
The win was the 223rd at West for Poole, who is fourth all-time among Rowan County girls basketball coaches.
West Rowan 19 15 21 7 — 62
South Rowan 4 9 5 13 — 31
WEST — Thompson 24, Smith 14, L. Pharr 8, Allen 6, A. Martin 6, Hoffner 4.
SOUTH — D. Pharr 12, Alston 5, Wilhoit 4, Fisher 2, Landaverde 2, Krieg 2, Benfield 2, Eagle 1, Saint Juste 1.
