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But the three losses to North Buncombe, East Burke and A.C. Reynolds — which, to be fair, are a combined 11-1 so far this season — seem to have galvanized the Lady Patriots, who now have won three in a row and enjoyed their highest offensive output of the winter in a 79-58 nonconference road win over county rival Draughn on Tuesday evening.

FHS (5-3) started its current spree with the never-easy task of winning on the road at Hickory, doing so 59-48 on Dec. 5. That was followed by a 66-18 homecoming win over Patton last Friday and Tuesday’s win over the Lady Wildcats, which completed a season sweep of DHS following a 59-47 season-opening win in Â鶹´«Ã½ on Nov. 20.

“I think that’s good for our confidence,� said Freedom coach Amber Reddick of her team’s current winning streak. “I think we’re starting to play well together and prove that we have a lot of kids who can score the ball this year. We’re definitely more balanced, offensively, than we’ve been. We need to find our consistency. I feel like one night, we play really good offensively and not as well defensively, or vice-versa.

“But I was really proud tonight of how they finished the game and stepped up in the second half. I’m most proud of how we’re sharing the ball offensively, right now.�

Draughn challenged Freedom for most of the first half as the visitors led just 17-13 after a quarter and by nine points, 38-29, at halftime after leading by as many as 12 points earlier in the second period. A 10-0 run by FHS in the third period essentially put the game out of reach at 55-39 with just under 11 minutes to play overall.

Senior Peyton Caldwell was a big part of that run, as usual, and finished with a game-high 23 points. But Freedom had three other double-digit scorers, as well, as junior Cynica Caldwell posted 16 points and classmates Alayhia Bates and Ava Cooke finished with 13 and 12 points, respectively.

“I think it’s huge,� Reddick said. “I think it proves we’re not just a single threat. It’s not just Peyton. I think it takes some pressure off Peyton, too, not that she didn’t score a bunch tonight. But, you know, that helps us and will help us in a tough (Northwestern 3A/4A) Conference when you’ve got more balanced scoring.�

Cynica Caldwell hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the second quarter for the aforementioned dozen-point lead. She also finished the contest on a high note, scoring 10 of the Lady Patriots’ 21 fourth-frame points.

“(I’ve tried to step up) a lot,� said Cynica Caldwell of her expanded role this season. “It’s been hard, but I’ve just got to stay focused and learn to play through adversity and be calm.�

Hitting back-to-back shots from beyond the arc isn’t a bad way to get rolling, either.

“You start to look at the game differently,� she said. “But you can’t get too hyped about the shots. You’ve just got to let the game come to you.�

Cooke has been an important piece for FHS since coming alive during the team’s playoff run in her freshman campaign. She missed a little time in the preseason with an injury, but is starting to look the part of an upperclassman leader. On Tuesday night, she drained a pair of 3s in the odd-numbered quarters.

“I feel like our offense is moving a lot better,� Cooke said. “We have to work on our rebounding and transition play, but we’ve been putting a lot of work in. We’ve been hustling a lot, and I think it’s really been helping us out.

“It feels great. We love getting wins.�

The Lady Patriots will put that winning streak on the line Friday night with a trip to Weaverville for a rematch with the Lady Blackhawks of North Buncombe. After that, it’s another rematch as FHS will host archrival East Burke next Tuesday in Â鶹´«Ã½ before heading into the Christmas break.

Other scorers for Freedom in Tuesday evening’s win included Haven Gladden (eight points), Kaitlyn Hagmann (two), Jenaya Johnson (two), Simone Wright (two) and Aniah Queen (one).

Draughn (2-4) had a trio finish in double figures, including Kenley Berry (17 points), Jacey Davis (17) and Mati Kincaid (14). Other scorers were Taylor Holder (five points), Makenzie Powell (three) and Bailey Winkler (two).