South girls advance to second round

Mon. February 20, 2012 at 10:00 p.m. | By James W. Houston

DENTON | In the South Davidson girls basketball team’s quest for a state 1-A championship, their first-round opponent was a familiar one.

The result was familiar as well.

Using what brought them the Yadkin Valley Conference championship — their defense — the Wildcats held court during a strong third period, outscoring South Stanly 15-3 en route to a 49-31 victory Monday night in Denton.

The Wildcats hosted their YVC foe after handily defeating the Rebel Bulls by 19 and 23 points in their two previous meetings. But as the old saying goes, anything can happen in the playoffs and it’s tough to beat a team three times during a season.

South Davidson (21-6) and will host the winner of the East Wilkes and North Moore contest at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

After the Wildcats built a 24-12 lead late in the second quarter, the Bulls’ Tayller Shankle got loose for six straight points, cutting the Wildcats’ halftime advantage to 24-18.

But the Wildcats came out of the locker room stingy and with their defense creating turnovers, raced to a 41-23 lead at the end of the third period. The Bulls went more than five minutes without a point and finished with only one basket during the period, a 3-pointer by Bailyn Allen.

“They were a tall team, but we were able to stop their inside game,” said South Davidson coach Fonda Jackson, whose team is coming off the conference tournament championship. “Plus we were able to get our offense going in the third quarter. We picked up the pace and started moving. We’ll get some practice tomorrow and get ready for the second round.”

With the Wildcats building a 19-point lead with more than six minutes left in the game, Jackson emptied her bench and finished the game with the 18-point victory.

Madi Beeson was the Wildcats’ top scorer with 17 points, including three 3-pointers, while Hunter Sigmon had 14..  
Shankle led the Bulls with 12 points.