3A Championship: West Rowan vs. Terry Sanford

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second of the four contests that was scheduled to take place at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum featured the team that were victorious in last season's 3A tournament against a team looking to exercise previous tournament demons.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>West Rowan's path to this year's 3A championship game included a pair of wins against region rivals in Central Cabarrus and Northwest Cabarrus to go alongside wins over Ashe County, East Lincoln and A.C. Reynolds. To arrive at Friday's championship tilt, Terry Sanford prevailed over Hunt, Jacksonville, Southern Durham, Cape Fear and South Central.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Would the Falcons repeat or would the Bulldogs deny West Rowan in its back-to-back bid? The answer would be the former as West Rowan prevailed over Terry Sanford with the final score being 64-52.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Quarter-By-Quarter</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first boys game of the day (Wilson Prep vs. Corvian Community) was high scoring and the opening stanza of the girls game looked like it would follow a similar script. Terry Sanford got the better of the opening exchange as they had a 18-16 lead over West Rowan through the first eight minutes.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What followed was a slightly more defensive-minded period in the second quarter – but a close one. As both teams entered their respective locker rooms to mull over halftime strategy, Terry Sanford had a slim, 29-27 lead over West Rowan.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Quarter number three also concluded with the contest close. But unlike the first pair of stanzas, it would be West Rowan with the slight edge. With the 2023-24 3A crown hanging in the balance, the Falcons had a 41-38 lead on the Bulldogs.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The latter portions of the fourth quarter made the difference – and it was when West Rowan managed to put plenty of distance between themselves and their adversaries from Terry Sanford. When the clock read triple zeroes, the Falcons were successful in its repeat effort.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Primetime Performers</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":872619,"width":"430px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/03/IMG_5892-crop-2236x1469-1710570773.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-872619" style="width:430px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Falcons would end up with three in double digits for points. One of those would be <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='622017' first='Tiara' last='Thompson']</strong> who tallied 18. Out of the 18 she scored, 14 of those would occur in the second half of play.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":872627,"width":"457px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/03/IMG_5746-crop-2962x1945-1710571220.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-872627" style="width:457px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='563285' first='Lauren' last='Arnold']</strong> added 17 points to West Rowan's efforts. In addition, she finished with a double-double as she also brought down 17 rebounds. The senior Arnold would play 25 of the game's 32 minutes. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":872625,"width":"455px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/03/IMG_5952-crop-3814x2504-1710570984.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-872625" style="width:455px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Arnold was not the only Falcon who concluded her time at Wake Forest with a double-double. The same proved to be true for <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='612335' first='Emma' last='Clarke']</strong> – also a senior. Clarke finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":872629,"width":"452px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/03/IMG_5966-crop-2030x1333-1710571403.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-872629" style="width:452px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Terry Sanford had a pair of its players finish in double-digits, points-wise. One of those was <strong>Breanna Roaf</strong>. She concluded her game with 18 points in addition to seven assists. Twelve of her 18 occurred in the second half. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":872631,"width":"452px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/03/IMG_5783-crop-3098x2035-1710571511.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-872631" style="width:452px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Bulldogs also benefitted from the 17 points that were put on the board courtesy of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='528689' first='Ameya' last='Brown']</strong>. She spearheaded Terry Sanford's early offensive efforts. Brown also made six of her eight free throw attempts. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":872633,"width":"456px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepgirlshoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/03/IMG_5874-crop-3464x2275-1710571631.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-872633" style="width:456px;height:auto" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='635063' first='Jaidiah' last='Blake']</strong> also had herself a big game for the Bulldogs. Blake was one point and one rebound away from a double-double as she scored nine and also hauled in nine boards. She also collected a pair of steals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Records</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Falcons' 2023-24 season has concluded with a record of 31-1 plus its 16-0 mark against conference opponents. As for the Bulldogs, its book closes for this season with a. 26-6 record plus a 14-0 conference mark.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>So Long, Seniors</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Makaylah Tenor, [player_tooltip player_id='612336' first='Demya' last='Phifer'], Mya Edwards, [player_tooltip player_id='563285' first='Lauren' last='Arnold']s and [player_tooltip player_id='612335' first='Emma' last='Clarke'] are the five seniors graduating from this year's West Rowan squad. [player_tooltip player_id='634401' first='Rebecca' last='Kaba'], [player_tooltip player_id='688322' first='Jayla' last='Brantley'] and Skylar Young are the three seniors graduating from Terry Sanford.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->