Another win, another title

Add another championship banner to a gym already hanging full of them.

The McDowell Lady Titans throttled the Asheville Cougars 69-37 Tuesday in the regular-season home finale to capture the Mountain Athletic 4A/3A Conference’s 4A championship.

McDowell, which won for the 15^th straight time, also locked up its 28^th consecutive berth in the State 4A Playoffs. The split 4A/3A league doesn’t officially recognize an overall champion, but McDowell secured that title, too.

It’s the eighth regular-season league championship for the sixth-ranked Lady Titans in the last 10 years.

McDowell (10-0 MAC 4A/3A, 19-2 overall) wasted no time taking command, scoring the game’s first 11 points. The Lady Titans never looked back, building a 41-15 halftime lead and coasting home from there.

The night was bittersweet for McDowell, however. Junior guard Anna Pittman – who has struggled mightily with injuries in her career – suffered a knee injury and did not return to the game. Preliminary reports indicated Pittman tore her ACL and is done for the season.

Four Lady Titans scored in double figures, and fittingly, three of them were seniors.

Post Jessica Patrick (7 rebounds, 3 blocks) scored 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting, with 10 of her points coming in the first half. Guard Taylor Settlemyre tallied 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists, a steal and a block in a solid all-around performance. Forward Tuccoa Brackett (7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks) also tossed in 12.

Junior guard Nikki Mills came off the bench for 11 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block.

Guard Niry Perez was the only Asheville player in double figures, but 13 of her 18 points came in the second half when the game had long since gotten out of hand.

The Lady Titans established themselves in the paint in the early going, blocking four Asheville (1-8, 2-16) shots in the first quarter alone and holding the Cougars to 3-of-16 shooting in the opening period.

Meanwhile, Settlemyre buried a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight points in the quarter, while Patrick contributed six points.

The result was an 18-9 lead that swelled to 41-15 by halftime. McDowell led 52-22 after three.

The Lady Titans are on the road at A.C. Reynolds Friday (4 p.m. start—jayvee girls) and round out the regular season schedule next Tuesday on the road at Enka.

Asheville (37) Niry Perez 6-13 5-6 18, Jill Gleeson 3-12 0-0 8, LaBrea Baird 1-5 1-2 3, Mirrah Colbert-Grant 3-11 0-0 6, Anna Dockery 1-8 0-0 2, Racque Leblanc 0-2 0-0 0, Jared Baten 0-1 0-0 0, Alana Pankey 0-2 0-0 0. Totals: 14-54 6-8 37.

McDowell (69) Amber Fulbright 2-5 0-0 4, Tuccoa Brackett 6-16 0-0 12, Jessica Patrick 8-12 1-2 17, Shellie Riddle 0-1 0-0 0, Taylor Settlemyre 4-9 1-2 12, Markia Stacey 1-1 0-0 3, Nikki Mills 5-8 1-1 11, Kylee Lenon 0-1 0-4 0, Anna Pittman 0-1 0-0 0, Aryonna Noblitt 3-6 0-0 7, Taylor Miller 1-2 0-0 3, Brittany Pannell 0-0 0-0 0, Karen Jones 0-3 0-0 0. Totals: 30-65 3-9 69.

Asheville             09   06   07   15 – 37

McDowell           18   23   13   15 – 69

Rebounds: Asheville (26) McDowell (41) Rebound leaders: Asheville (Colbert-Grant, Dockery 6) McDowell (Settlemyre, Brackett, Patrick 7) 3-point goals: Asheville (3-12) McDowell (6-11) Asheville (Perez 1-3, Gleeson 2-6, Colbert-Grant, Dockery, Leblanc 0-1) McDowell assist leaders: (Settlemyre 6) McDowell steals leaders: (Riddle, Mills 2) McDowell blocked shot leaders: (Patrick 3, Brackett 2, Mills, Settlemyre 1) Turnovers: Asheville (18) McDowell (10)