By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
GRANITE QUARRY ó The longest winning streak Davie’s girls managed all last season was two games.
They’ve already topped that. The War Eagles are 3-0 after pounding East Rowan 68-34 on the road on Tuesday.
Davie hasn’t enjoyed a winning season since 2004-05 and hasn’t played in the Sam Moir Christmas Classic championship game since 2002, but it has a chance to be a factor in that event later this month.
“We have a team that works very well together,” Davie sophomore guard Janna Dixon said. “We’re putting pressure on teams bringing the ball up the court, we’re making a few 3s, and we’ve got some good players inside.”
Dixon hit four 3s, two in the first quarter as the War Eagles bolted to an 18-4 lead. She finished with 16 points.
Davie freshman post player Tia Clement could play for Salisbury, the highest praise you can give anyone. Clement made spin moves and slick passes, blocked shots, brought the ball downcourt smoothly, and contributed 13 points.
“Tia has a lot of confidence and skill,” Davie coach Debbie Evans. “She has so much potential and she wants to work to get better. The sky’s the limit for her.”
Davie, which beat Carson 61-36 and West Iredell 63-37, has built its three-game streak against NPC teams. They’ve all been easy. Davie led East 33-13 at halftime and wasn’t threatened in the second half. The Mustangs had to close with a 6-0 run to lose by 34.
“We’ve lined up some tough teams to start off with,” East coach Karen Garmon said. “Salisbury and Concord,. Now Davie, and this is the best team Davie’s had in a while. But we’re not quitters. It’s not East Rowan basketball to roll over, and we’ll keep trucking.”
East (0-3) was led by Mackenzie Holshouser’s eight points, two in each quarter.
The Mustangs, who made only four field goals in the first half, handled the ball better after halftime, but shots still found more iron that net. In the third quarter, East was 3-for-13 from the field and 0-for-4 from the foul line.
“We were doing the hard part, breaking the pressure, but then we were still panicking on our shots and not taking our time,” Garmon said. “When we did get off good shots, they weren’t falling.”
Post player Olivia Sabo hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter. Madelyn File, another post girl, made a long 2 in the fourth. Bridget Boling came off the bench to score four late points for the Mustangs.
But the East highlights were limited. Davie had a rebounding edge all night, and when the Mustangs missed, Clement and her teammates had it going the other way in a hurry.
Asia Steed had 12 points for the War Eagles, while Amy Steller added nine.
“I’ve got five seniors, we’ve got some experience, and we’re off to a good start,” Evans said. “We all know there’s still lots of work to do.”
davie (68) ó J. Dixon 16, Clement 13, Steed 12, Steller 9, K. Dixon 8, Smoot 4, Tucker 2, Hendricks 2, Stevenson 2, Shelton, Holland, Turner.
east rowan (34) ó Holshouser 8, Honeycutt 6, Sabo 5, Vanderford 5, B. Boling 4, Corpening 2, Drew 2, File 2, A. Boling, Eagle, Dunlap, Means.
Davie 18 15 15 20 ó 68
E. Rowan 4 9 7 14 ó 34