Lockdown defense keeps Asheville High girls basketball undefeated with win over Reynolds

ASHEVILLE – Just before a long Rockets pass could reach its intended target in the frontcourt, Asheville High guard Kirsten Watt stepped in front of it and immediately sent an even longer pass back in the opposite direction.

There, Cougars guard Aleyshia Hill made the catch and drove to the basket, leaving a pass off for the trailing Evangelia Paulk, whose layup extended the team's lead to seven points, got the home gym rocking and forced a Reynolds timeout.

Having been tied entering the fourth quarter, Asheville High's seven consecutive points off steals swung the momentum to the Cougars, who never let the visitors closer than five points the rest of the way.

Lockdown second-half defense powered Asheville High's 52-41 comeback win over the defending champion Rockets, keeping coach Sonita Warren-Dixon's team undefeated and in position to win the MAC.

"That's what we like to do. We like to press and run. We don't like the slow, walk-em-up game," Warren-Dixon said. "We fell into letting them dictate the tempo and what we want. We can't let other people dictate what we do."

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Reynolds (8-6, 2-1) led 26-20 at halftime, using a big night from Landyn Stewart (17 points) to lead by as many as eight points midway through the third quarter.

But by committing to an extended zone pressure, the Cougars (13-0, 2-0) gave the Rockets fits down the stretch. Watt had six of her seven steals in the second half, leading to loads of fast-break points on the other end. Paulk, who plays at the top of the press, was the biggest beneficiary.

"Our defense runs everything. If we're not doing well on defense, we're not doing well on offense," Paulk said. "We needed to fix that first, increase our intensity a lot. And we switched to a man guarding their best players."

Asheville High closed the game on a 27-8 run, an emphatic finish to what had been a tight contest previously.

Watt said the team's confidence never wavered, even when trailing in its biggest game of the season to this point.

"Our coach always says that we're a second-half team. We really come out and play in the second half," Watt said. "We changed up our press, and they weren't able to handle that."

One of three Cougars in double-figures, Paulk finished with a game-high 18 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

The Wofford signee's return to Asheville High after a year at Asheville Christian Academy has offered Warren-Dixon's team a significant boost, reuniting a talented senior class after going 13-8 overall and 6-6 last season.

Just one game into the new year, the Cougars have matched last season's win total against a schedule with some tough opponents, including Rabun Gap, Cocke County (Tenn.) and Rosman.

None of those games held the significance of Tuesday's tilt against the Rockets, who went 11-1 to win the league last season. Asheville High entered the game determined to make a statement, and by shutting down the visitors after halftime, it did just that.

"It's just important to prove that we're the better team," Watt said. "People have doubted us because we lost to them last year, but we weren't the best we could be last year. This year, we've really improved."

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville High girls basketball beats Reynolds behind lockdown defense