SPARTA — The Lady Greyhounds won their eighth-straight game Thursday, while the boys’ team fell in a one-sided game.

North Surry is taking part in the two-day Alleghany Christmas Tournament and took on Watauga Thursday.

The Lady Hounds (9-1) won 56-43, while the boys’ team (4-7) lost 75-50.

Girls Game

For the girls, Coach Shane Slate said it was a typical post-holiday game as both teams looked a little sluggish and rusty in the first half.

After building a 16-8 lead in the first quarter, the Hounds gave it all back in the second quarter.

Clare Harris, who scored 15 points, came off the bench to hit three three-pointers to spark Watauga to a 15-3 run that turned an 18-10 deficit into a 25-21 lead with 21 seconds left in the half.

The Hounds scored in the final seconds for a two-point margin at the break. They pulled back ahead with a 15-9 third quarter for a slim 38-34 lead going into the fourth.

“The layoff hurt us some, but I thought we played three good quarters of basketball today,” Watauga Coach Klay Anderson said. “I really thought the game turned in their favor in the fourth quarter. We got stuck on (34) and they put a run together and finally put some distance between us.”

Center Malaya Johnson did most of that damage as she scored 10 second-half points. Johnson finished with a double-double of 17 points and 13 boards as well as seven blocked shots and six assists.

Forward Kristina Rumplasch led the Hounds with 18 points and eight assists while making the team’s only two three-point shots.

“They also hurt us with some backdoor plays as well,” Anderson said. “It wasn’t just Johnson and Kristina. They got other people involved in the second half and attacked the basket.”

Erin March and Jordan Badgett had six points each. Maddison Hawks added five and Morgan Hawks four.

From 48-36, the Lady Pioneers scored five straight to cut the lead to seven, but the Hounds made six of eight free throws down the stretch. The team finished 14-22 (64 percent) at the line for the game.

Watauga dropped its fourth-straight game since starting the season 3-0. The Lady Pioneers have three key players on the shelf with possible season-ending injuries: Jenna Woods out with a leg injury, Haleigh Wallace out with a stress fracture in her right leg, and Tasha Wilson out with a broken leg.

The Lady Hounds are back in action again today at 3 p.m. against Patrick County.

Boys Game

The Watauga boys team shook off the effects of its 13-day layoff by beating North Surry 75-50 Thursday afternoon.

It was Watauga’s first game since December 14 as both games last week were postponed following the sudden passing of teacher and coach Leigh Cooper-Wallace.

“There are things way more important than basketball,” said Watauga Coach Rob Sanders. “We’re still in shock with Leigh’s passing, and our prayers go out to the Cooper-Wallace family.”

As for the basketball game, Sanders said, “We showed some signs of the layoff. Our timing was off, and we were out of sync at times. But I was real pleased with our defensive intensity. We forced the issue and took control of the game.”

The Pioneers (5-2) were led by Cameron Baker’s season-high 24 points. Ben Margolis chipped in with 16 points, including four three-pointers in the third quarter.

The Hounds played Watauga close in the first and fourth quarters, but were outscored 48-25 over the second and third periods.

Twenty-one of those points came in a row as Watauga turned a 14-9 hole into a 30-14 lead midway through the second quarter.

With the Pioneers focusing on all-conference forward Grayson Vernon, senior point guard Klay Newsome stepped up, scoring 10 of his 12 points in a flurry over the final three minutes of the second quarter.

The Hounds cut the lead to 38-32 early in the third quarter, but then Margolis got hot from downtown. And the Hounds had trouble hanging onto the ball, committing 29 turnovers.

“But Ben has the ability to hit from long range. They left him open a few times today, and our guys were able to find him. And we really needed that lift after (Newsome) brought them back with that barrage in the second quarter.”

Vernon led the Hounds with 19 points, and Marcus Sawyers added eight and Austin Handy four.

“Vernon is a great player,” Sanders said. “We stressed to our guys that we wanted to step things up and put some distance between ourselves and this team. They’re a scrappy bunch. They came back on us, but we never let Vernon decide anything.”