Eastern Randolph, girls’ basketball
Eastern Randolph had a breakthrough season in girls’ basketball, and Purdue, a senior, played a significant role. The team secured its first winning season in six years.
Purdue was one of three seniors on the Eastern Randolph roster. She was the starting center.
The Wildcats reached the third round of the Class 1-A state playoffs. They finished with a 19-8 record.
Southwestern Randolph, girls’ basketball
Small had a couple of solid games last week in the Piedmont Athletic Conference Tournament.
She’s a senior captain on a team that has several key underclassmen.
Small, a forward, provided nine points when the Cougars defeated Trinity 47-46 in the PAC Tournament quarterfinals. She led Southwestern Randolph with 14 points in a 75-49 semifinal loss to Eastern Randolph.
Randleman, girls’ basketball
Booker is a senior starter on another Piedmont Athletic Conference championship team for the Tigers.
Booker, a guard, ranks third in scoring on the team with 8.4 points per game, hitting about 51 percent of her shots from the field. She’s second in rebounding at 5.0 per game.
She’s also in the top three for Randleman in steals and free-throw percentage.
The Tigers, who’ve eclipsed the 20-win mark for the second season in a row, finish the regular season this week. In the PAC Tournament, they’ll have a bye before a home semifinal game Feb. 15.
Booker was an All-PAC selection last spring in softball.
Wheatmore, girls’ basketball
Hill helped the Warriors to a three-game winning streak. Wheatmore won home games against Southwestern Randolph and Uwharrie Charter Academy sandwiched around a road triumph at Providence Grove.
Hill’s 20 points were huge in the 52-43 conquering of Southwestern Randolph. The sophomore guard had 17 points in the Providence Grove game.
Going into this week, the Warriors had won five of their last six games. Wheatmore held a 3-3 record in the Piedmont Athletic Conference after an 0-3 start to league play.
Asheboro, girls’ basketball
Lee has been a golfer competing at the state level, but she’s also one of the top basketball players for the Blue Comets girls’ team.
The senior forward scored a team-high 16 points last week when Asheboro topped visiting Thomasville 60-9. That outcome snapped a seven-game losing streak for the Blue Comets.
Lee has been the team’s top producer in terms of assists and blocked shots. She also has been the Asheboro leader in field goal percentage.
Asheboro is trying to return to prominence after playing in the Class 3-A state championship game in 2021. The Blue Comets are under the direction of first-year coach Mike Headen.
Southwestern Randolph | girls’ basketball
King was a key contributor to a pair of victories last week for the Cougars.
The junior guard put up 16 points in Southwestern Randolph’s 67-15 non-conference home victory against Jordan-Matthews.
King scored 17 points when the Cougars opened their Piedmont Athletic Conference schedule with a 53-45 victory at Trinity.
She also had eight points in a 50-40 road loss to North Davidson.
Providence Grove | girls’ basketball
Frazier had three strong outings for the Patriots, who went 2-1 in those games.
Frazier’s impactful week started with 19 points in the 50-34 victory against visiting East Davidson.
By scoring 17 points, the senior guard had more than half of the Patriots’ points in a 38-32 road loss to Southern Guilford.
Frazier capped the week with 19 points in a 49-43 triumph against Asheboro.
Through four games this season, Frazier had a scoring average of 17.3 points per game. She also shared the team rebounding lead with Asia Steverson with 7.3 per outing.
Randleman’s Audra Petty shoots a 3-pointer against Shelby during the Class 1-A West Regional semifinals March 1 at Randleman.
RANDLEMAN – Another deep run into the state playoffs for the Randleman girls’ basketball team might just be incentive to take it another round or two next time.
“We’ll be back,” coach Brandon Varner said. “We’re close. We’ve just got to keep getting after it, building toward next year. We’ll be back.”
The Tigers finished the season with a 25-1 record, with the only loss coming in the Class 2-A regional semifinals.
When defending state champion Shelby knocked off host Randleman 51-41 last week, it concluded a season full of championships for the Tigers. They won a holiday tournament, the Piedmont Athletic Conference regular season and PAC Tournament.
Even in their final game, there were encouraging moments.
“It was our kind of game … low-scoring, tight game,” Varner said. “Girls played hard. I can’t ask for anymore.”
Randleman had balanced scoring in its last game. Gracyn Hall posted 12 points, Hannah Hinshaw notched 10 points, Elizabeth York had nine points and Audra Petty added eight points.
Shelby went on to lose 45-44 in double overtime to Salisbury in Saturday’s regional final in Greensboro.
As for the Tigers, there could be more good days ahead when next season arrives.
“We’re going to get back in the gym and keep working,” Varner said.
ASHEBORO — Four Randolph County girls’ basketball teams advanced to the second round of the state playoffs with wins Tuesday night, while two others saw their seasons end.
Uwharrie Charter Academy, Randleman, Southwestern Randolph and Wheatmore cruised in their first-round playoff games.
UCA, a No. 3 seed in Class 1-A in the West Region, topped No. 30 seed Bradford Prep 54-38. Also in Class 1-A, Eastern Randolph fell short in a 65-62 loss to Cherokee.
Randleman, the top seed in the Class 2-A, dominated No. 32 seed Shelby Burns with a 64-17 victory.
No. 11 seed Southwestern Randolph was a 49-38 winner against No. 22 seed Bandys with a home win at Castelloe Gym.
No. 14 seed Wheatmore won 61-42 against No. 19 seed Monroe. Meanwhile, Providence Grove suffered a 71-25 road loss to Shelby.
Trinity’s Kaleb Leach, left, blocks the shot as Providence Grove’s Chase Whitaker goes up late in the game during last week’s Piedmont Athletic Conference matchup at Trinity.
Randleman’s girls’ basketball team secured the Piedmont Athletic Conference regular-season championship even before the last week of the regular season.
The Tigers held an 11-0 league mark and a 19-0 overall record with only a home game against last-place Trinity remaining on the conference docket.
It was much tighter on the PAC boys’ side. Three teams had a shot going into the week, each with two conference games left.
Providence Grove led the way with an 8-2 league mark, while Uwharrie Charter and Trinity both stood at 7-3.
The remaining games for the Patriots were set to be against the bottom two teams in the standings – at Eastern Randolph and home vs. Wheatmore.
Providence Grove closed in on a title by trouncing visiting Randleman 68-48 on Friday night for its most-lopsided victory in league play this season.
Trinity kept things interesting earlier in the week by knocking off visiting Providence Grove 64-57 with Trace Moffitt (16 points), Dominic Payne (15) and Aidan Blakely (14) providing balanced scoring.
Mid-Piedmont Conference
This week began with the Asheboro girls and boys sweeping host Montgomery Central on Monday night.
Asheboro’s boys stayed in the hunt for a share of the regular-season title by winning 67-53 as Jerquarius Stanback and DJ Headen both supplied 12 points.
For the girls, Asheboro secured its first Mid-Piedmont Conference victory by stopping Montgomery Central 42-35 behind Kimry Comer’s 13 points, Ellon Long’s nine points and 12 rebounds, and Sion Murrain’s 15 rebounds.