Tuesday’s Girls Roundup: Ariana Nance, Rocky River, push past Alexander Central to NCHSAA second round
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↑Central Cabarrus defense: Central (24-4) gave up eight points in the second quarter and four in the third during Tuesday’s 66-34 win over East Henderson in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association playoffs. Mahaley Holit had 16 points and nine assists and Elanna Peay and Nevaeh Brown had 13 each for Central. Peay had 18 rebounds. Freshman Aniyah Tate had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
↑North Mecklenburg: upset No. 9 Butler 50-43 in overtime on the road Tuesday. North Meck gave Mallard Creek, the No. 1 team, all it wanted a few weeks ago and appears to be ready to make a playoff run.
↑Molly Setliff, Parkwood: 27 points, six rebounds, five assists, five steals and six made 3-pointers in Tuesday’s playoff game.
↑Trinity Jones, Ashbrook: scored her 1,000th point in Tuesday’s 68-50 first round playoff win over West Rowan.
Tuesday’s #BIG5 Performers
Mikaya Dyson, Lincolnton: 39 points in a 74-58 win over East Lincoln.
A’Lea Gilbert, South Mecklenburg: 27 points, 20 rebounds in an 70-58 loss to Southwest Guilford.
Journey Muhammad, Ardrey Kell: 16 points, six assists and four rebounds in a 63-33 win over Richmond Senior. Deniyah Lutz (15 points, five rebounds, five steals) and Kathleen Rogers (13 points, five rebounds, five steals) also had strong games for the Knights. And Riley Littlejohn had a career-high seven points.
Ariana Nance, Rocky River: 34 points, 14 rebounds in a 69-64 win over Alexander Central. Teammate Courtney Meadows had 10 points and 11 assists.
Ahlana Smith, Mallard Creek: Junior guard had 23 points, six steals in a 71-31 win over East Forsyth. Sophomore Dazia Lawrence had 14 points and six steals. The Mavericks are 26-0.
Tuesday’s roundup
No. 2 Hickory Ridge 75, Burns 25: Unbeaten Hickory Ridge (27-0) had an easy first round playoff win as Gabby Smith had 18 points, 10 rebounds and two steals. Nia Daniel had 14 points. Messiah Brown led Burns (9-17) with 10 points.
No. 10 Hough 56, Jamestown Ragsdale 36: Renee Alquiza had 19 points and Kaila Thompson 16 as Hough took an easy first round win. The Huskies limited Ragsdale to 17 second half points.
No. 12 Monroe 55, Wilkes Central 37: Jasmine Reddick had 17 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks as Monroe (22-4) won easily to advance to Thursday’s second round of the NCHSAA 2A playoffs.
Kings Mountain 70, Weddington 50: Kelsey Farmer had 21 points, Leessia Rhodes 13 and Chaya Hunter 12 to lead Kings Mountain (18-8) to the first round win. Weddington (13-12) hadn’t lost in the first round in the playoffs in any of the past five seasons. Erin Addison had 29 points for Weddington and Karrah Katzbach had 13.
This story was originally published February 21, 2017 at 11:12 PM with the headline "Tuesday’s Girls Roundup: Ariana Nance, Rocky River, push past Alexander Central to NCHSAA second round."