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By Brian Pitts

Enterprise Record

Four days after hitting a peak against East Forsyth, the Davie varsity girls basketball team hit a valley in a nonconference game at Alexander Central on Dec. 19.

The War Eagles, who shot the ball superbly in a 72-45 rout of East in the conference opener, struggled mightily on both ends of the court in a 70-51 loss to the Cougars.

The War Eagles kept the first meeting on Dec. 8 reasonably close before falling 55-44, but they saw how difficult it can be to match up with high-flying Central when it’s clicking on all cylinders.

Avarie Martin drilled a 3-pointer to give Davie an early 4-3 lead, but the Cougars scored the next 13 points. They made 12 of 22 field goals, including 4 of 8 treys, while building a 33-15 halftime lead.

Central peeled off a 15-0 run in the third and led by as many as 33 (67-34).

The Cougars were hot all game, going 24 of 46 (52 percent) and nailing 9 of 17 from 3-point range. By contrast, Davie shot just 30 percent (13 of 42), although it was not bad from distance (7 of 20).

Central (11-0) looked like the dominant force that its record suggests. It has pounded people 59-39 on average, and this marked its eighth victory by double figures.

Madison Daugherty led Davie with 14 points, including four 3s. The freshman has made nine triples across two games. Bailey Aderhold had 11 points and two assists. Peyton Spaugh had seven points and seven rebounds as the senior converted 5 of 6 from the foul line. Martin had six points. Emmie Burris had six points and three steals. Malayka Rankin had six points and four steals. Londyn McDowell had one point.

On a positive note, after falling behind by 33 in the fourth, Davie (4-4) closed the game on a 17-3 run. The best highlight was Aderhold’s four-point play.