Stilwell surpasses 2,000 points as Lady Cavs roll past Bunker Hill

East Burke girls basketball player Braelyn Stilwell reached another milestone on Tuesday, scoring the 2,000th point of her prep career in an 85-15 home win over Bunker Hill.

The senior point guard finished with 24 points as she scored at least 20 points for the 15th time in 21 games this season, and she also reached double figures for the 70th consecutive game dating back to her sophomore year. Additionally, Stilwell passed 2017 Freedom graduate Ariyana Williams (2,002 points) for second on Burke County’s all-time girls scoring list behind only former Lady Patriots standout Ali Ford, who scored 2,502 points from 2005-09.

Stilwell also had five assists and five steals for the Lady Cavaliers (20-1, 11-0 Catawba Valley 2A Conf.), while Kara Brinkley finished with 17 points and 19 rebounds, the latter of which tied her career high set in last year’s North Carolina High School Athletic Association 2A state title game loss to North Pitt. Brinkley also recorded a pair of blocks to go with nine points apiece from Addi Brittain and Kendall McFalls.

EB led 29-7 after the opening quarter, 57-8 at halftime, and 72-12 through three periods before winning by a 70-point final margin for its largest league victory of the season. Furthermore, the win was the Lady Cavs’ ninth in a row and was preceded by a 64-44 triumph at Newton-Conover on Friday, Jan. 31, when Stilwell had 20 points, eight rebounds, and four assists to go with 16 points and 18 boards from Brinkley and nine points, six rebounds, and five assists from Journi McDowell.

Against the Lady Red Devils, EB was up 16-14 at the end of the first quarter and 29-28 at the half before outscoring the hosts 11-2 and 24-14 over the final two periods.

In boys action, the Cavs (9-12, 3-8) lost by a 66-45 score at Newton-Conover before beating Bunker Hill, 76-70, to snap a three-game losing streak. Barger Shook led EB in scoring in both contests, finishing with 11 points and six rebounds against the Red Devils before tallying 26 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks on Tuesday.

EB’s Owen Hartmann was also in double figures on Jan. 31 with 10 points, and he scored 19 points to go with four boards against the Bears. Also on Tuesday, Dautry Ragle registered 18 points and seven rebounds.

After being outscored in each of the first three quarters en route to a 21-point loss at Newton-Conover, the Cavs overcame a 15-14 deficit after the opening period by outscoring Bunker Hill 21-18 in the second quarter, 21-20 in the third, and 20-17 in the fourth.

Freedom girls, boys win once apiece

Senior guard Peyton Caldwell became the first Freedom girls basketball player to score 40 points since Ali Ford dropped 43 in a 68-59 win at A.C. Reynolds on Jan. 6, 2009, but it wasn’t enough to lift the Lady Patriots past South Caldwell on Tuesday.

Caldwell scored 40 points and Haven Gladden finished with 10 for Freedom (11-9, 4-3 Northwestern 3A/4A Conf.) in the 74-54 road loss, while Ava Anderson and Kristen Barber tallied 42 and 11 points, respectively, for the Lady Spartans, who were up 18-6 after the first quarter, 34-18 at halftime, and 57-41 entering the fourth period before collecting a 20-point win.

Nevertheless, the Lady Pats did earn a 63-58 win over Hibriten on Jan. 31 in Morganton, jumping out to a 19-12 lead after the first quarter and a 41-22 advantage at halftime before holding off the Lady Panthers in the second half. Caldwell and Gladden each scored 18 points in that contest, while Ava Cooke had seven and Kaitlyn Hagmann finished with six.

On the boys side, Freedom (15-5, 5-2) sandwiched a 70-46 nonconference road loss to Hickory on Thursday, Jan. 30, and an 86-65 loss to South Caldwell on Tuesday around an 82-44 victory over Hibriten on Jan. 31. The Patriots were outscored in all four quarters against the Red Tornadoes before outscoring the Panthers in every period, while big first and fourth periods by the Spartans led to Freedom’s downfall on Tuesday.

Kobe Johnson had 17 points against Hickory to go with nine from Braxton King, while Amore Connelly and King added 23 and 12 points, respectively, the following day. And during Tuesday’s game, Connelly scored 21 points, King added 14, Kobe Johnson tallied 10, and Davidson finished with nine.

Draughn teams sweep Rosman

The Draughn girls (11-9, 6-5 Western Highlands 1A/2A Conf.) ended a three-game losing streak with a 68-29 road victory over Rosman on Tuesday, with Jacey Davis and Mati Kincaid both scoring 17 points for the Lady Wildcats to go with 14 from Taylor Holder and eight from Kenley Berry.

Draughn outscored the Lady Tigers in all four quarters after previously suffering a 40-39 loss at the hands of Madison on Jan. 31 in Marshall. In that contest, the Lady Wildcats led 23-19 at the half and 31-29 through three quarters before the Lady Patriots rallied in the final frame, with Berry (11 points), Holder (11), Kincaid (nine), and Davis (eight) doing all of Draughn’s scoring.

As for the Draughn boys (6-14, 5-6), they were 73-35 winners over Rosman thanks to 14 points from Henry Cooper, 13 from Noah Chrisco, and 11 from Cayden Lewis. The Wildcats led 18-5 after the opening quarter, 37-10 at halftime, and 53-27 heading into the fourth period before cruising to a 38-point triumph.

And in a 67-39 loss to Madison, Draughn trailed 25-12 after the first quarter, 43-16 at the half, and 60-28 through three periods before outscoring the hosts 11-7 in the fourth quarter. Double-figure scorers for the Wildcats included Kayden Lytle with 11 points and Connor Houston with 10.

Patton boys slip past East Rutherford

Prior to their 58-52 road loss at the hands of R-S Central on Tuesday, the Patton boys (8-13, 5-4 Mountain Foothills 7 1A/2A Conf.) defeated East Rutherford by a 60-56 score on Jan. 31 in Morganton.

During the four-point win over the Cavaliers, the Panthers built a 25-13 lead after the first quarter and were ahead 40-28 at halftime and 51-38 entering the fourth period. Kyle Taylor scored 17 points to lead Patton, which also got 16 from Cayden Roscoe and eight from Laine Barrier.

Taylor and Nathan Waters both scored 13 points against the Hilltoppers, while Roscoe added 12 in a game that was tied at 12-all at the end of the first quarter before R-S Central outscored Patton 15-6 in the second, the Panthers held a 16-13 edge in the third, and each team scored 18 in the fourth.

In the early games, the Patton girls (4-17, 1-8) lost to East Rutherford by a 51-30 final and R-S Central by a 39-31 score, getting eight points from Melina Bernabe and seven apiece from Mia Chapman and Emma Rolland on Jan. 31 before receiving eight points from Rolland and six each from Hayden Hein and Jaycee Mull on Tuesday.

NCSSM-M squads fall at Owen

The NCSSM-Morganton girls (0-14, 0-9 WHC) lost to Owen by a 53-15 score on the road Tuesday, although no further details were available.

There were also no individual statistics available from the NCSSM-M boys’ 76-55 defeat on Tuesday. With the loss, the Dragons dropped to 4-12 overall and 1-8 in league games.