Rosewood girls earn share of second straight Carolina 1A title

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on February 13, 2015 1:48 PM

• Print
• Email

rcoggins@newsargus.com

Balloons in one hand and a big smile on her face, Krystal Yelverton walked toward the Rosewood locker room Thursday night.

This win had a special meaning.

Not only was it Yelverton's senior night, but the Eagles -- despite key losses from last year's team -- earned a share of its second conseutive Carolina 1-A Conference crown with a 57-26 triumph over Princeton.

"(This title) means more than last year, yes sir," said Yelverton, who notched four points, dished out five assists, pulled down two rebounds and pick-pocketed the Bulldogs for six steals.

"We know we had to work harder, build on what we had lost (last year) and we've had good chemistry. (Tonight) we played more as a team, passed the ball ... had to work for it."

Junior Lexi Mercer posted a double-double -- 24 points, 11 rebounds. Callie Thornton supplied six points, five assists, three rebounds and one steal. All 12 Eagles saw significant playing time and nine scratched in the scoring column.

Rosewood had 16 team assists on 26 made field goals.

"We passed it really good," Eagles head coach Rick Grantham said. "They're a pleasure to work with. Oh my God, they're so much fun and we have the best time. They come to work every day. It's a great group of seniors -- Krystal, Callie and Jordan, who I'm glad she came back and played with us this year because I think she hadn't played since her freshman year

"Krystal and Callie are my anchors, which makes my job a lot easier."

Senior Charley Cox, who played a game-high 28 1/2 minutes, paced the Bulldogs' offensive attack with 15 points -- including a perfect 7 of 7 at the free throw line. Cox moved to within two points of 700 for her career. She's five assists away from 200 during four varsity seasons of action.

Five players scored for the Bulldogs, who converted eight field goals and shot 7 of 9 at the charity stripe. Long scoring droughts and 30 turnovers proved pivotal for Princeton, which returns to Rosewood on Monday for opening-round play in the season-ending conference tournament.

The Eagles (18-3 overall, 13-1 CC) are the top seed after winning a coin flip against co-champion Lakewood. Should the two teams meet in the tournament finals, the winner gets the No. 1 seed for the state playoffs.