South girls pound North, Ellis

Published 11:17 am Friday, February 19, 2021

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Emmy Johnson set the tone in the first quarter, and the South Davie girls basketball team rolled past North Davie 37-23 on Feb. 2.

Johnson had 10 points when the first quarter ended, resulting in a commanding 13-2 lead for the visiting Tigers. She finished with a season-high 17, lifting her team-high average to 11.6. Interestingly enough, she is the sister of sophomore Elizabeth Johnson, the top scorer for Davie’s varsity.

“She’s a hustler,” South coach Morgan Wyatt said of Emmy. “She only has one speed and that’s wide open. We are working on staying under control and still being quick.”

North’s Nadalie Jones caught fire in the third, scoring 11 with three 3-pointers, but South’s Makenzie Gentry countered with eight to keep South comfortably ahead, 31-15.

Gentry matched her season high with 16. Taitiyuanna Torrence and Adisen Whitaker had two each for South.

North, which fell to 3-3 with two of the losses to South, got 15 points from Jones. Callie Wisecarver had six and Carleigh Croom two.

Wesleyan 31, Ellis 18

Wesleyan Christian Academy took firm control in the first quarter and never looked back in High Point on Feb. 2. It was 12-2 after the first and 19-7 at the break.

Bailey Aderhold scored nine to lead the Jaguars. Kaylee Lewis had five and Cora Nicholson four.

SD 43, Ellis 21

Gentry and Raney Phelps were the South stars in a home rout on Feb. 4.

The Tigers nailed 7 of 8 free throws in the first quarter as they carved out an 11-4 lead. Phelps went crazy in the second quarter, scoring 10 of her team’s 13 points as South had a 24-11 cushion at the half. Gentry fueled another ferocious run in the third as she finished with 20 points – the most by a Tiger in 14 games. (Gentry had 20 in a 50-20 cakewalk over Lexington on Dec. 18, 2019.)

Phelps came in averaging 4.6, a solid output for a sixth grader. She went off for 14, including 3 triples.

“Makenzie was driving to the basket and making things happen,” Wyatt said. “Raney has shown that she is an athlete since day one, and we have worked – and are still working – on her shot. But she has stepped up when we have needed her to.”

Jayden Carter (four), Johnson (two), Gracie Goodman (two) and Torrence (one) also scored for the Tigers, who ran their record to 6-1.

The Jaguars, who fell to 0-7, got nine points from Lewis, seven from Nicholson and five from Aderhold.