East Lincoln girls, Lincoln Charter boys advance to Regional finals

The Lady Mustangs remained perfect on the season with a convincing 56-35 win over Freedom in the 3A West Regional semifinals Tuesday night at East Lincoln High School.

Freshman Kiara Anderson had a huge game for the Lady Mustangs, scoring 18 points to lead the team. Anderson added 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals as East Lincoln improved to 31-0.

Senior Ginny Overbay chipped in with 10 points, 5 boards, 6 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocked shots, and sophomore Hailey McFadden added 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, assist and a blocked shot for the Lady Mustangs.

Peyton Caldwell, a sophomore guard, led Freedom (15-13) with a game-high 25 points.

With the win, East Lincoln advances to the West Regional Finals for the first time since 1973. The Lady Mustangs will take on undefeated West Rowan on Saturday at 1 p.m. at McDowell High School in Marion for the right to play in the state championship game next Saturday.

Freedom       7  6  10  12 – 35

East Lincoln 9  12 20 15 – 56

Freedom: Peyton Caldwell 25, A. Whisnant 6, A. Whitaker 2, S. McGee 1, H. Gladden 1.

East Lincoln: Kiara Anderson 18, Ginny Overbay 10, Hailey McFadden 10, Taniyah Thomas 6, Emma Montanari 5, Madison Self 4, Madison Bissinger 3.

2A Boys: Lincoln Charter 73, East Gaston 57

After a pretty evenly matched game for the first three quarters, the Eagles exploded for 31 points in the fourth period to pull away from the Warriors for a 73-57 win in the 2A West Regional semifinals in Mount Holly on Tuesday.

Senior Elijah Burnett scored 28 points to lead Lincoln Charter. Junior Kelan Flowers added 18 and senior Xavier Crawford 13, as the Eagles advanced to Saturday’s 2A West Regional Finals. Lincoln Charter will face undefeated Reidsville at Grimsley High School in Greensboro tomorrow at 2 p.m.

Lincoln Char. 17  11  14  31 – 73

East Gaston  16  12  11  18 – 57

.

Tuesday’s 4th round scores

Girls

1A: Bishop McGuinness 56, Cherokee 42

Robbinsville 65, Draughn 41

2A: East Burke 49, Randleman 42

Salisbury 46, Shelby 40

3A: East Lincoln 56, Freedom 35

West Rowan 64, Ben L. Smith 27

4A: Catholic 60, Watauga 49

Lake Norman 57, North Meck 50

.

Boys

1A: Bishop McGuinness 58, Mountain Heritage 54

Eastern Randolph 74, South Stokes 71

2A: Lincoln Charter 73, East Gaston 57

Reidsville 59, Salisbury 50

3A: Central Cabarrus 86, Crest 50

West Charlotte 66, Ben L. Smith 62

4A: Myers Park 76, Catholic 44

North Meck 105, Chambers 92 (2OT)

(Published March 3, 2023)