BOONVILLE — East Wilkes completed an undefeated run through the Northwest 1A Conference for girl’s basketball with a 66-27 win at Starmount on Friday night.
The Lady Cardinals, which will receive a first-round bye in this coming week’s conference tournament at East Wilkes, finished league play at 12-0 and have now won 16-consecutive games. The Lady Cardinals have not lost since early December
East Wilkes a combination of a strong start (a 24-point first quarter) and an overwhelming defense to build a 43-11 halftime lead.
The Lady Cardinals led by as many as 20 in the opening quarter and extended the lead to 32-5 on 3-pointers from Lauren Macemore and Payton Spicer.
Despite the early hole, there were some bright spots for the Lady Rams, which included a three-point play from reserve Isabel Romero.
Payton Howell, who had only made one basket this season prior to Friday, was among the four seniors recognized prior to the start, made a bucket in the first quarter.
The Lady Cardinals started the second half on a 9-0 run and invoked a running clock early in the third quarter on a layup, off a steal, from Peyton Mastin.
East Wilkes extended the lead to as many as 41 at 54-13.
Starmount continued to fight as knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in the final quarter, included a pair from Abby Moxley and from Mackenzie Cox.
All 11 Lady Cardinals got into the scorebook on Friday night, led by a game-high 15 points from Payton Spicer — the only player to score in double figures for either team.
Macemore and Kyleigh Price added nine points apiece and Kierstin Johnson and Kyleigh Lane each finished with seven.
Playing without the services of leading scorer Molly Swaim (the sophomore was averaging just over 14 points a game) due to an injury and Madison Cox (illness), Moxley paced the Lady Rams with nine points; Cox and Ray added six and four points, respectively.
The two teams could potentially see each in the upcoming NW 1A Tournament at East Wilkes. The top-seeded Lady Cardinals, who received a first-round bye, will
face the winner of No. 4 Starmount and No. 5 Elkin (the pair faced off on Tuesday) in the semifinals on Wednesday.
The championship game will take place on Friday; all games will be at East Wilkes.
East Wilkes 66, Starmount 27
East Wilkes 24 19 11 12 — 66
Starmount 5 6 4 12 — 27
EAST WILKES: Bailey Stanley 1 0-1 2; Peyton Mastin 2 1-2 5; Lauren Macemore 4 0-0 9; Payton Spicer 6 0-0 15; Kierstin Johnson 3 1-4 7; Olivia Stanley 0 2-2 2; Layla Winters 1 0-0 3; Kelsea Absher 0 1-2 1; Kyleigh Lane 3 1-2 7; Kaylin Talley 2 2-2 6; Kyleigh Price 2 3-4 9. Team Totals: 24 11-19 66.
STARMOUNT: Maggie Ray 2 0-0 4; Abby Moxley 3 1-2 9; Ashlynn Abbott 0 0-0 0; Claire Vanhoy 0 0-0 0; Payton Howell 1 0-0 2; Anna Stewart 0 2-4 2; Carley Money 0 1-4 1; Emma Caudle 0 0-0 0; Isabel Romero 1 1-1 3. Team Totals: 9 6-12 27.
THREE-POINTERS: East Wilkes: Spicer 3, Price 2, Macemore, Winters. Starmount: Moxley 2, M.Cox
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