By David Shaw
dshaw@salisburypost.comMOUNT ULLA ó Ayana Avery was West Rowan’s “It” girl Tuesday. There was her ó and that was just about it.The sophomore guard scored a career-best 38 points in the Falcons’ 48-34 win over Mooresville. It marked her third 30-point game this season, though it hardly phased her.
“I just kept playing and kept shooting,” she said matter-of-factly. “We don’t worry too much about the refs and the scoreboard and the scorebook. We just play our game.”
The victory helped West (8-9, 5-7 NPC) leapfrog over Mooresville into fifth place in the league standings.
“We’re still in this thing,” coach Erich Epps said after WR collected its second straight conference win. “We’ve got some games out there that we can win if we play ball.”
They played ball very well for much of last night’s match. Avery’s 3-pointer from the right side gave West a 9-0 lead in the opening three minutes. By halftime she had 18 points and the Falcons had a 24-15 advantage.
“She played good ó but she always does,” teammate Mila Simmons said. “She was important, but she’s important all the time.”
Mooresville (4-12, 4-8) made a game of it in the third quarter, when it forced 10 turnovers and used an 11-0 run to pull within 32-29. Halfway through the spurt a visibly upset Epps ordered a timeout and yelled, “That’s the ballgame.”
He later explained, “I was just trying to inspire them. I wanted to challenge them. We don’t score a lot and we don’t have big-time rebounders. But we have guards who should be able to break a press. We’re better than that.”
Especially Avery. She was unconscious in the fourth period, when she knocked down a pair of 3-balls and scored 12 points. She finished 7-for-8 from the foul line with five 3-pointers.
“She was cool and calm and she took control,” said MHS coach Jim Lambert. “The way they were playing, someone had to.”
mooresville (34) ó Stockton 10, McLaughlin 8, Martin 5, Pridgen 4, Harris 3, Sturdivant 2, Thomas 2.
west rowan (48) ó Avery 38, Simmons 5, Calloway 2, Sawyer 2, Watson 1, Gillespie, Watkins, Dutton, Holloway, Baucom, Moose, Parker, Cross.Mooresville 7 8 14 5 ó 34
W. Rowan 14 10 9 15 ó 48