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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

Davie’s girls basketball team sprinted to a 12-1 lead in the early moments of the second round of the 4-A playoffs, but the War Eagles lost their mojo, fell 64-58 and had to settle for a 20-8 season.
The game was held at South Mecklenburg on Feb. 28.
The ninth-seeded War Eagles were brilliant out of the gate. Gracie Shore popped a trey. Bailey Aderhold scored on the break. Makenzie Gentry converted a reverse layup. Avarie Martin sank a triple. The Sabres were 0 for 12 from the field and down 12-1. When Burris made a reverse layup of her own, it was 14-3. Vivian Vaughters got a steal, scored as she was fouled and hit the free throw to make it 17-8.
In the second quarter, South fought back, but Shore, Olivia Smith and Madison Daugherty drained 3s to give Davie a 28-25 halftime lead.
But all of a sudden the War Eagles couldn’t keep up with South, the Sabres scoring 11 unanswered points in the third. After missing 13 of their first 15 tries from 3, they hit a triple to take their first lead at 33-31 with 3:29 left in the third. The War Eagles’ offensive magic – they shot 56 percent on the way to 81 points in the first round – had run out. They were 0 for 10 from the floor in the third before Shore hit a 17-footer.
Then Smith had a flurry to keep hope alive. Her 3-ball pulled Davie within 40-38 and her basket off a Burris steal tied the game at 40. Martin’s 12-footer cut South’s lead to 44-43, but the No. 8 Sabres responded with another 11-0 run and Davie could not recover.
Davie’s biggest contributor was an unlikely source – freshman Smith, who hit her stride over the last four games. She banged three triples and scored a team-high 11 points. After averaging 2.3 points in her first 20 games, she scored at a 7.2 clip in her last four.
Shore did all she could with 10 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Vaughters had eight points. Burris put together eight points, seven rebounds and three assists.
After starting 5 of 11 from the field, Davie went cold (11 of 41). After missing their first seven 3-point tries, the Sabres (25-4) nailed 6 of 14.
The loss, though, could not tarnish a terrific season. The War Eagles made history in 2024-25 and they have a chance to be something really amazing next year. There was not a senior on the team. The top eight scorers were two juniors, five sophomores and one freshman. Martin averaged 12.9, Shore 8.3, Aderhold 8.1, Gentry/Burris 6.6, Vaughters 6.4, McDowell 5.5 and Daugherty 4.4.
South Meck 64, Davie 58 – Olivia Smith 11, Gracie Shore 10, Vivian Vaughters 8, Emmie Burris 8, Bailey Aderhold 6, Avarie Martin 5, Madison Daugherty 5, Londyn McDowell 3, Makenzie Gentry 2.