FAYETTEVILLE — Anna Smith exploded for a career-high 43 points and the Temple Christian School varsity girls basketball team pulled away in the second half to earn a 56-32 road win over Berean Baptist Academy on Tuesday.
Smith finished the 16 of 27 from the floor, making all four of her 3-point attempts, and made good on seven of her 12 free throws. The sophomore also made an impact on defense, snagging eight rebounds and tallying 11 steals.
Temple (9-0) only led by two points, 22-20, at halftime, but came out of the break with a new energy on defense that stifled the home Bulldogs (6-10) whenever they had the ball — and they only scored a dozen points in the final 16 minutes.
Senior guard Rachel Smith added eight points, eight boards and nine assists for the Lady Tigers.
On Monday, both Temple junior varsity teams traveled to Pinehurst to take on new conference member Sandhills Classical Christian School. The JV girls (11-0, 7-0 Carolina Christian Athletic Association) remained undefeated with a 36-15 victory over the Lions, while the JV boys (3-9, 1-9 CCAA) dropped a 50-36 decision without leading scorer Malik Green.
Next up for Temple’s program is a home quadruple header against Columbus Christian Academy on Thursday. The middle school girls begin at 4 p.m., followed by middle school boys, varsity girls and varsity boys, respectively.
NOTE: The full version of this story can be found in the print and e-editions of the Daily Journal on Thursday, Jan. 17.
Temple Christian’s Anna Smith (12) scored a career-high 43 points in a 56-32 win at Berean Baptist on Tuesday.