RONDA — Back-to-back Northwest 1A Conference championships gave way to a third-straight tournament title for the East Wilkes girl’s basketball team on Friday night.
With its narrow 41-38 win against North Stokes in the tournament finals; the Lady Cardinals have won three consecutive tournament championships for the second time in program history.
East Wilkes previously won four-straight Blue Ridge Conference tournaments from 1988-91.
“It feels pretty sweet. I’m excited for the girls because their work and determination have paid off,” said East Wilkes head coach Matt Campbell. “We sputtered at times, but I think that little bit of experience of being here recently, really helped us tonight. We never really truly panicked and that’s a testament to what they’ve been through and the people that we’ve played all year long.
“Things got a bit tighter in the second half, but they found a way, had some answers. Their grit and determination were big keys in that run.”
Five of the six seniors on this year’s team have been a part of all three-tournament championship teams; several of them made key contributions on Friday.
Peyton Mastin, who was named the tournament’s most outstanding player after her game-high 15-point performance, knocked down a key jumper to put top-seeded East Wilkes up 39-36 with 1:47 to play.
After a Gabbi Greer put back made it a one-point game, the Lady Cardinals (21-4) nearly made it a two-possession game but Payton Spicer’s 3-point attempt was off the mark. On the ensuing possession, the No. 2 Lady Vikings missed two chances and were forced to foul.
Foul shots proved to be pivotal down the stretch for both squads.
The Lady Cardinals finished 10-for-20 from the charity stripe but the door was still open for North Stokes (22-5) after Lauren Macemore made 1-of-2.
Greer missed a shot attempt on the next possession and as Kierstin Johnson grabbed the rebound, Lexie Knight stole the ball.
The senior, who was fouled, missed both attempts with nine seconds to play but the No. 2 Lady Vikings still had a shot to force overtime.
Johnson would go 1-for-2 from the line and Caroline Mabe rebounded the miss on the second attempt and quickly pushed the ball up the floor. Mabe passed it over to Knight but her attempt sailed over the hoop.
Knight led North Stokes with 13 points and Greer added 10.
“Give North Stokes a lot of credit. They had a great game plan; made some huge buckets, really put us back on our heels,” said Campbell. “We had some big, timely buckets and players stepped up and made some shots.”
The Lady Cardinals led the majority of the game after initially trailing at the start.
Despite a cold shooting second quarter (with a triple from Mastin being the only field goal of the quarter), the East Wilkes led 22-16 at halftime.
The Lady Cardinals, who led by as many as eight in the second half, received eight points from Johnson and six from Kaylin Talley.
Now, the Lady Cardinals will turn their attention to the upcoming North Carolina High School Athletic Association 1A playoffs, which began on Tuesday night at home against Bradford Prep.
When asked what the team’s expectations were for the postseason, Campbell wants to continue build on what they did last winter. East Wilkes won its first playoff game since 2018 last winter and reached the third round.
“I love this group and I’m thankful for them. Hopefully we’ll be able to play a couple more games at home, do well and continue that run,” Campbell said. “I’d like to build on what we did last year and continue but we’ve got some things to work on, just like everybody — it’s an awesome time!”
Note: In addition to Mastin, Johnson and Spicer were also named to the all-tournament team for East Wilkes. Mabe and Knight were named for North Stokes, along with Elkin’s Presley Baker and South Stokes’ Rebecca Amos.
#1 East Wilkes 41, #2 North Stokes 38
North Stokes 8 8 10 12 — 38
East Wilkes 15 7 8 9 — 41
NORTH STOKES: Caroline Mabe 2 0-2 4; Lexie Knight 6 0-2 13; Gabbi Greer 4 0-2 10; Kinley Mabe 3 0-0 9; Leigha Wyrick 1 0-0 2; Kaydence Woods 0 0-0 0; Emma Lawson 0 0-2 0. Team Totals: 16 0-8 38.
EAST WILKES: Bailey Stanley 1 1-2 3; Peyton Mastin 5 2-4 15; Lauren Macemore 1 1-2 3; Payton Spicer 1 1-2 4; Kierstin Johnson 2 3-4 8; Olivia Stanley 0 0-0 0; Layla Winters 0 0-0 0; Kelsea Absher 0 0-0 0; Kyleigh Lane 1 0-0 2; Kaylin Talley 2 2-6 6; Kyleigh Price 0 0-0 0. Team Totals: 13 10-20 41.
THREE-POINTERS: North Stokes: K. Mabe 3, Greer 2, Knight. East Wilkes: Mastin 3, Spicer, Johnson.
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