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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

The Ellis girls basketball team may not be incredible like it was in 2023 when it went 17-0, but the 2024 Jaguars have Sydney Ward, Kinsley Harbour and other girls who can give people problems.
They had a close loss in the opener at Corriher-Lipe on Oct. 24. Ellis was down 25-21 after the third quarter and wound up losing 35-29. Ward (11) and Karah Shore (six) paced the scoring.
The Jaguars bounced back in a big way, crushing Erwin 46-27 on the road on Oct. 28. After they took a 21-20 lead into halftime, they went bananas in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 25-7. Harbour was the biggest weapon, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 14 points. Annabelle Wright had nine and S. Ward seven. Zoe Summers and Shore had six each.
In a home game on Oct. 29, Ellis (2-1) handled business without issue, beating China Grove 35-25.
It was a weird first half. The Red Devils held a 6-2 lead after the first quarter. Ellis held a 21-7 halftime lead thanks to a 19-1 run in the second. S. Ward was the star, scoring 19 while draining three triples. Harbour had eight, Summers five and Ellyanna Holbrook three.
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South Davie had a hapless game at China Grove on Oct. 24, digging a 10-0 hole in the first quarter and losing 43-14.
“We beat ourselves,” coach Julie Snow said. “We started off rough and could not pull it back together. There is so much potential there, we just have to figure out a way to get it to show consistently.”
Allie Cothren had nine points, but no one else had more than two.
“Allie pushes herself to the limit and leaves it all out there on the court,” Snow said. “Sharia Tillery gave us great hustle off the bench.”
At home against North Rowan, Cothren put the team on her back but the Tigers came up short, 23-22. Cothren made 7 of 8 free throws and finished with 15 points.
Cothren stayed hot against visiting Southeast, scoring 15 to raise her average to 14.2, but South fell behind by 12 in the third and couldn’t rally in the fourth. The result was the third loss in a row, 39-27.
“Allie hustles all the time,” Snow said. “We are not winning but we are really starting to improve. I’m very impressed with our growth. We are boxing out and looking up the floor. It is one step at a time.”
Kady Joyce was a bright spot.
“Kady is a year-round volleyball player but plays basketball at South,” Snow said. “She went up against a girl twice her size, took a beating and kept pushing back and boxing out.”
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North Davie (0-3) remained winless after a 37-12 home loss to West Rowan on Oct. 28. Jaynie Patton carried the Wildcats with 10 points. Zariya Oliver had the other two.
C-Lipe 35, Ellis 29 – Sydney Ward 11, Karah Shore 6, Layla Hazlip 4, Sophia McMurray 4, Zoe Summers 2, Ellyanna Holbrook 2.
Ellis 46, Erwin 27 – Kinsley Harbour 14, Annabelle Wright 9, S. Ward 7, Summers 6, Shore 6, Holbrook 2, Hazlip 2.
Ellis 35, CG 25 – S. Ward 19, Harbour 8, Summers 5, Holbrook 3.
CG 43, S. Davie 14 – Allie Cothren 9, Emma Grace Snow 2, Karileigh Munday 2, Akiela Young 1.
N. Rowan 23, S. Davie 22 – Allie Cothren 15, Kady Joyce 4, Zariah Allison 2, Sakariah Allison 1.
Southeast 39, S. Davie 27 – Cothren 15, Akiela Young 5, S. Allison 2, Mi’kayla Gibbs 2, Sharia Tillery 2, Shania Brown 1.