Asheboro finishes second in the girls final, but it was still a tournament to remember for AHS

ASHEBORO — There are times when a high school basketball coach has to step back and evaluate his team on the entirety of a three-game tournament and not just the final outcome.

Asheboro High School girls varsity basketball coach Wes Luther did just that, looking at what the Blue Comets were able to accomplish at this year’s SportsTone.net Christmas Invitational and he really couldn’t have been prouder.

The Blue Comets advanced to their first holiday tournament championship since 2015, hanging around until the very last minutes before dropping a 51-40 decision to Eastern Guilford Tuesday night at Asheboro High School.

AHS was coming off an easy 54-15 win over Jordan-Matthews in the first round and a thrilling 58-51 overtime win over powerful Southwestern Randolph by rallying from seven points down in the final 22 seconds to send that game into overtime, where they outscored the Cougars 12-5. 

In the finals, AHS trailed a very athletic Wildcats team 32-30 after three quarters, but came back and took a 33-32 lead on a bucket from Maliyah Brady and a free throw from Kailey Brown, but the Wildcats wore the Blue Comets down and grabbed a lead they would not relinquish. 

“I told them our goal was to go 2-1 and I didn’t care how we got there,” Luther said after the Blue Comets improved to 9-5 on the season, a win total that represents the most wins in one season since 2021. “It was a great team effort throughout the whole tournament. We played J-M and took care of business, beat a traditional powerhouse in Southwest and then we competed with a very good conference opponent on tired legs.”

The Blue Comets, who committed 33 turnovers in the semifinal win over SWR, had just as many against Eastern Guilford, especially early on when the WIldcats led 7-5 after one quarter and 17-11 at halftime.

“We turned the ball over quite a bit and I knew we couldn’t replicate how many we had the night before,” Luther said. “But when I look back at it, we’re probably in that same neighborhood again. Their athleticism gave us some problems. We haven’t seen that quick of guard play all year. And we got gassed. We dug that hole and came back out of it. We’re battling some injuries and things like that and we got fatigued pretty quickly.”

The Blue Comets, who trailed by double-digits in the second half, fought back and took that 33-32 lead early in the fourth, but the Wildcats, led by tournament most valuable player Mauri Jerman, quickly established a working margin in the final minutes.

“Everybody has been talking about last night,” Luther said of the Blue Comets’ furious rally and win against the Cougars, the first time AHS has defeated SWR since 2021. “Tonight, everything was short. I’m extremely pleased with their effort. They were able to put themselves in the position to play for a championship.”

In that semifinal win over the Cougars, the Blue Comets trailed 46-39 with 22 seconds to play. A free throw from Laneane Scherer, a five-second call against SWR and a free throw from Brady made it 46-41. A SWR turnover preceded a bucket by Brady and then the Blue Comets forced a jump ball, giving them possession. 

With 2.9 seconds left, AHS inbounded the ball to Kailey Brown, who was free after a screen from Adalyn Scherer, and Brown nailed the buzzer-beater to send the game to an extra period, which AHS dominated. 

Against Eastern Guilford in the finals, Brady finished with 18 points, Adalynn Scherer 10, with Brown and Laneane Scherer adding five each.

EG’s Jerman had 17 and Madison Calvin 10.

TOURNAMENT MVP

Mauri Jerman, Eastern Guilford

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Madison Calvin Eastern Guilford 
Klara Zizkova, Eastern Guilford
Maliya Brady, Asheboro
Adalynn Scherer, Asheboro
Jordin George, SW Randolph
Maddie Strider, SW Randolph
Jacquline McDaniel, Randleman
Kaelyn Whitehart, Wheatmore
Madison Hill, Trinity
Jada Scott, Jordan-Matthews
Peyton York, Chatham Charter

Sportsmanship Award

Alexis Holifield, Wheatmore