The first round of the playoffs was rough for Burke County. The East Burke girls rolled and that's the best I can say for any county team. The Lady Cavs seem set to make a deep playoff run and may make a return trip to Winston-Salem, they host Randleman Friday. The East Burke boys seem to have let one get away, however. I know they were only down one to Monroe in the fourth quarter before losing by eight and a playoff win would have been huge for the Cavs.
Draughn's girls lost on the road. I think the Lady Wildcats consistently get a good effort out of their girl's squad and they'll occasionally surprise and get through to the later rounds. We'll see how they do next year in 3A, but they're well coached.
The Freedom girls beat Ashbrook 69-62. That marks 19 straight seasons where the Lady Pats have won at least one playoff game. That's a remarkable accomplishment and something to be proud of, but they just barely scraped by the Lady Green Wave last night, who got it down to one with one minute left from a 14-point lead. Far too many turnovers, a technical for mouthiness and some sloppy play almost spelled doom for Freedom. Payton Caldwell dropped 41 points and that was what saved the Lady Pats. In the last seven games she's had two forty-point games and four thirty-point games, averaging 33.4 ppg, so she's a force to be reckoned with. They get Dudley at Freedom on Friday.
The Patriots played poorly and lost to NW Cabarrus 72-54. It was bad from the start and the boys didn't look ready to play from the tip. They were down as much as 20 early in the third quarter but then cut it to eight and really should have gotten it down to six (missed layup). But after that the Trojans found the rhythm again and put the game away. I had high hopes for this Patriot team earlier this year, but several games where they were blown away exposed them. They had tons of talent, but there were games where talented players just seemed to disappear. Two years ago, they were the three seed in the west and lost to this same NWC squad at home in the second round. In fact, the boys haven't made it past the second round of the state playoffs in five years now. Freedom struggles in a lot of sports, but basketball has always been a strength and it's hard to see the program flounder.
I'll follow the Lady Pats for the rest of the playoffs and try to report on the Lady Cavs as their season continues.
