Staff report
MOUNT ULLA — West Rowan has been a freight train just about all season, and the Falcons didn’t slow down any in Friday’s 73-39 win against East Rowan.
There are 59 girls basketball teams in the NCHSAA’s 5A classification. Only three are still undefeated. That’s Southeast Alamance, Oak Grove — and West Rowan. West is third in the RPI rankings. We’re still almost a month away from playoff brackets being released.
The Falcons (17-0, 8-0) have done a good job of preparing for the postseason by taking them one game at a time in the league. The first goal is to win the South Piedmont Conference, and it appears that the only SPC team that possibly could beat West, as long as the Falcons stay healthy, is Northwest Cabarrus, the eighth-ranked team in 5A. West beat Northwest 76-72 in a thriller in Mount Ulla. The rematch will be at Northwest on Feb. 6.
West guard Tiara Thompson is having one of the best senior years in Rowan County history. She averages 25 points and topped that on Friday with 29 points. She made three 3-pointers.
The Falcons have four reliable scorers, and they were all productive on Friday. Aubrey Martin made three 3s and scored 11. Sydney Smith made two 3s and scored 10. Jamiela Allen scored 10 and made a 3-pointer.
Senior Katie Hoffner contributed six points, tying her season high.
West has scored 60 or more points 11 times, including the last five games in a row. West has allowed under 40 in 10 games.
East (5-13, 2-6) got 16 points from freshman Bristol Smith and 10 from senior Lily Kluttz. Mariah Lawing was next with six.
Bristol Smith had three buckets in the first quarter to keep East in the game, but the Falcons held East to five points in the second quarter, while Thompson was scoring nine herself. It was 42-18 at halftime, and the Falcons were well on their way to win No. 17.
East Rowan 13 5 14 7 — 39
West Rowan 21 21 11 20 — 73
EAST — B. Smith 16, Kluttz 10, Lawing 6, Quick 2, Pfister 2, Oglesby 2, Earnhardt 1.
WEST — Thompson 29, A. Martin 11, S. Smith 10, Allen 10, Hoffner 6, Hurd 5, Pharr 2.
