EB girls, boys fall in title games of McDowell Christmas Invitational

The third time was the charm for the McDowell girls basketball team on Friday, Dec. 27.

After losing to East Burke in the championship games of the previous two McDowell Christmas Invitationals, the Lady Titans finally knocked off the Lady Cavaliers in a battle of unbeaten squads in this winter’s title contest.

Trailing by eight points early in the fourth quarter, McDowell rallied for a 56-52 victory as it won its host tournament for the first time since the inaugural event in 2019 (the tourney was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Despite the loss, the Lady Cavs received a game-high 25 points from Braelyn Stilwell, with Kara Brinkley adding 10 and Macy McNeil scoring nine. On the other side, McDowell got 20 points from Kensly Stewart, 11 from Sage Young, 10 from Lanie Dameron, and nine from Clara McCartha.

“I think some of it was my fault,” EB coach Crystal Bartlett said of McDowell’s fourth-quarter comeback. “I should have probably changed to man-to-man (defense) a little bit earlier, but my concern was once we went to man, they’re a lot stronger and faster, and of course it showed when we did have to go to man, and they were able to capitalize.”

The Lady Titans scored nine of the game’s first 11 points and ended the opening quarter with an 11-5 lead, with Stilwell scoring all five points for EB (11-1). However, the Lady Cavs started the second period on a 15-1 run — a stretch that saw Stilwell notch a pair of three-point plays, a 3-pointer, and a steal and the subsequent layup to go with a 3 from McNeil and a free throw from Brinkley — as they ultimately carried a 25-20 advantage into halftime.

After McDowell began the third quarter with a basket from Young and a layup from Dameron to cut the deficit to 25-24, two foul shots from Stilwell followed by an Addison Sisk layup restored EB’s lead to five before a McCartha 3 and a Dameron layup tied things at 29-all. Stilwell and Stewart then traded treys before Journi McDowell hit a floater for the Lady Cavs and Young answered with two free throws, while two more foul shots from Stilwell put EB up 36-34 entering the final frame.

The Lady Cavs quickly increased their lead to 42-34 in the fourth period thanks to back-to-back triples from McNeil and Brinkley, but the Lady Titans responded with a 22-7 run to completely take control.

Over half of McDowell’s points during the spurt came from beyond the arc as Stewart made two 3s and McCartha and Young added one apiece, and the Lady Titans also converted six free throws down the stretch before McNeil accounted for the final score with a triple from the right wing in the closing seconds.

“We had some shots that didn’t quite go in, we had some opportunities, we threw the ball away against their press,” said Bartlett. “I thought we had the right setup, we just didn’t make a play, but the girls fought hard the whole time. … McDowell’s a good team, they’re 4A, they haven’t lost, and to come here and compete against them without two players — we didn’t have (Anna) Coble and Arie Williamson due to injury — I feel like we did a pretty good job, so I was proud of the girls.”

The Lady Titans also held Stilwell scoreless in the fourth quarter, with Bartlett stating that “the biggest thing is we didn’t get her in spots that we needed to.” Nevertheless, Bartlett also pointed out that she was “proud of how hard” the Lady Cavs played.

“That’s the one thing that I think’s gonna help us along the way is everybody else is gonna get better,” she added, “and when we get back to full strength, it’s gonna be fun to watch.”

Prior to the loss to McDowell, EB had won 53 consecutive regular-season games — the last of which was a 62-27 victory over Smoky Mountain in the first round of the McDowell Christmas Invitational on Dec. 26 — since falling by a 57-53 score at Freedom on Dec. 2, 2022. Against the Lady Mustangs, the Lady Cavs were led by 17 points from Stilwell, 12 each from Brinkley and McNeil, and eight from Sydney Pyatte as they built a 15-0 lead after the first quarter, a 34-7 advantage at the half, and a 51-17 lead through three periods before winning by a 35-point final margin.

With a home game against Catawba Valley 2A Conference foe Newton-Conover looming on Tuesday, Jan. 7 — the Lady Red Devils are currently 9-1 overall and are tied with the Lady Cavs for first place in the CVAC thanks to a 2-0 league mark — EB will be hoping for better luck its next time out.

“Newton’s better, they’re very good,” said Bartlett. “... And that’s what’s good about this conference this year is that we’re gonna have to battle and it’s gonna make us better. People are gunning for us, everybody wants to beat us, and that’s gonna make us better too in the long run.”

In the boys portion of the McDowell Christmas Invitational, EB (6-6) was a 69-60 winner over Smoky Mountain on Dec. 26 before losing by an 87-49 final at the hands of McDowell in the title game a day later, giving the Titans four straight first-place finishes in their host tournament.

The Cavs’ leading scorer against the Mustangs was Barger Shook with 24 points, while Owen Hartmann had 20 and Luke Demiter was also in double figures with 10. EB led 20-17 after the first quarter, 34-31 at halftime, and 48-42 entering the fourth period en route to a nine-point triumph.

And in the loss to the Titans, who had nine different players score paced by a game-high 31 points from 6-foot-7 center Rylan Parkins, EB got nine points apiece from Shook, Hartmann, Cannon Morrison, and Dautry Ragle. However, the Cavs trailed 16-7 after the opening quarter, 37-24 at the half, and 59-35 through three periods before eventually suffering a 38-point defeat.