Shore scores 30; Ellis girls notch 14th win

Published 2:34 pm Tuesday, December 12, 2023

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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

Gracie Shore had a performance for the ages, and one of the hottest teams on Earth soared to the most wins by a Davie middle school girls team in 11 years.

Shore racked up 30 points as Ellis pummeled visiting Mooresville 66-16 Dec. 4. Her numbers included three 3-pointers, 13-of-16 shooting, 7 steals, 7 assists and 4 rebounds. She broke the school record of Emma Slabach, who had 29 in a game in 2013-14. She had the most points by a Davie female middle schooler since South Davie’s Makenzie Gentry had 32 in a 61-20 win over North Davie in January of 2022.

“Gracie gives the ball up willingly, which makes her a great teammate,” coach Susan Jones said. “She could have had this record a couple times already but always looked to get the ball to the younger girls who she said, ‘work so hard in practice’ and she ‘wants to see them score.’ That is the type of player she is all the time.”

As usual, the Jaguars saw stellar efforts from the other two captains. Gracyn Coleman had 14 points and 3 steals, and Olivia Smith had 10 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists as Ellis (13-0 at the time) broke the school record for wins. Shore/Coleman/Smith combined to hit seven 3s.

“Gracyn was shooting well from the outside, and her and Gracie combined defensively to push up and make it impossible for Mooresville to get the ball inside or even much beyond the 3-point line,” Jones said.

Carter Ward and Layla Hazlip contributed 4 points each, and Zoe Summers collected 4 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.

“One player (for Mooresville) was really good on the inside when they could get the pass inside to her,” Jones said. “Our lower defenders – Olivia Smith, Zoe, Layla and Sydney Ward off the bench – made sure to keep her in check (after she had = success in the first quarter).”

Ellis 46, ND 9

Shore recorded a double-double and Ellis provided an exclamation point to a 14-0 regular season by overwhelming North Davie onDec. 6. This represents the most wins by a Davie middle school girls team since Trish King’s 2012-13 North Davie squad went 17-0.

“This was a special night for our team as we recognized and celebrated our eighth graders playing their last home game together,” Jones said. “Emily Hernandez and Olivia Rareshide started alongside our three eighth-grade captains (Coleman, Shore and Smith).”

Shore piled up 17 points, 13 steals, 6 assists and 4 blocks. Smith put up 13 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals. Coleman peppered the stat sheet with 7 points, 6 steals and 4 assists.

“Gracie was a one-woman wrecking crew on defense,” Jones said.

Also contributing were Olivia Rareshide (4 points), S. Ward (3 points, 3 rebounds, 3 steals), Hazlip (2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals) and Summers (4 steals, 2 rebounds, 2 assists).

“Although Zoe did not score, she was very active on the floor,” Jones said.

The North points came from Callaway Spillman (4), Zariya Oliver (3) and Mabyn Morris (2).

Burke 24, SD 16

The Tigers played their hearts out against Selma Burke – the margin was much closer than the 41-22 spread on Nov. 13 – but it wasn’t enough as South Davie (5-9) suffered their fourth loss by single digits.

“This is rough,” coach Julie Snow said after South’s losing streak swelled to four. “I swear these girls can do it, but they just don’t have the experience.”

The South scorers: Sakariah Allison 4, Sarenity Miller 4, Akiela Young 3, Clara Parsley 2, Karissma Stockton 1, Scarlett Brock 1, Allie Cothren 1.

Notes: North Davie lost 53-8 to visiting West Rowan. Spillman (4), Jaynie Patton (2) and Morris (2) had the points. … The West Division standings, from top to bottom: Ellis, West Rowan, Mooresville, Selma Burke, South Davie, North Davie.