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(Kelli Graves * Clay County Progress) Jayden Moore plays tug of war with a Lady Brave to try to keep possesion and stay in bounds.
Fans of the Hayesville Middle School Lady Yellow Jackets settled into the gym at HMS Tuesday, Dec. 17 for the final game before the Christmas break. In a contest that could have major implications on the Smoky Mountain Conference championship, Hayesville hosted the Lady Braves of Cherokee. After a thrilling first quarter, Cherokee took control of the game and never looked back, heading home with a 54-23 win.
The two teams swapped buckets and the lead in the first quarter. Just when it seemed like one team was in the driver's seat, their opponent would rally to close the gap. Cherokee had a 12-9 lead with just seconds to go when Jayden Moore nailed a 3-pointer to tie things up at the buzzer.
In the second quarter, the Lady Braves went with a full-court press on defense which wreaked havoc on Hayesville. Cherokee forced turnovers and managed to parlay those into points, 17 to be exact. After putting up a dozen points in the opening stanza, the Lady Jackets were all but shut out in the second quarter. Adding just 2 points to their total, the home team headed into the locker room at halftime down 28-14.
A 3-pointer from the hands of a Lady Brave started the third quarter and set the tone for the second half. Hayesville could not stop the bleeding as the Lady Braves played tough under the basket and seemed to capitalize on every rebound with points. Cherokee out scored the Lady Jackets 15-4 in the quarter to put Hayesville in a 44-18 mountain of a deficit going into the fourth.
The final quarter was more of the same as the Lady Braves were able to exploit gaps in Hayesville's defense with another 10 points. On the Lady Jackets' end of the court, Cherokee made it difficult for the home team to even get off a shot. Hayesville did manage to put 5 points on the board but it was too-little-too-late as the horn sounded, giving the Lady Braves the 54-23 victory.
Hayesville will look to get back in the win column Tuesday, Jan. 7 as they host the Lady Indians of Towns County at 4 p.m.
Leaders vs Cherokee
Madison Martin: 11 points, seven rebounds.
Jayden Moore: 5 points, five steals.
Ava Shook: 3 points, four rebounds.
Kenna Leatherwood: 2 points, five rebounds.
Emma Mashburn: 2 points, five rebounds.