By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Ava “Unshakeable” Shook and Bryleigh “Instant Offense” Krieger slammed the door on Swain County’s comeback aspirations as Hayesville’s varsity girls began their conference season by abyssing visiting Swain County, 43-29, Friday.
“A conference opener win is always good, so we’re enjoying it,” remarked Hayesville Assistant Coach Amanda Thompson, who held the reigns for Coach Chad McClure while he went out of town to attend his oldest son’s graduation from college.
Shook spearheaded the winning offense with a game-high 14 points, five assists, three steals, three rebounds, just one turnover and skillful ball handling that stood out during the most crucial part of the game.
Shook slammed the door shut on Swain County with a brilliant burst of activity after the Maroon Devils cut the lead to 30-25 in the fourth quarter.
Shook bedeviled the visitors by setting up Mallory Peck for a bucket that increased the spread to 32-25, then broke the full-court press two times in a row, which led to a basket by Krieger, followed by 2 free throws by Shook. Hayesville 36, Swain 25, 4:36 left on the clock. Crisis averted.
“One thing we really talked about was that they played a very fast-paced game. So we just wanted to stay calm,” Coach Thompson said. “For a little while in the fourth we rushed a little and then kind of calmed down. Once we calmed down, we got the ball to Ava.”
Ava was the coolest customer on the hardwood as the Maroon Devils repeatedly tried to trap and Abrams and Emma Ashe capably helped her play keep-away during the final minutes.
Hayesville closed out Swain with buckets by Brooke Graves on a slick assist by Breanna Abrams, three more free throws by Shook, and a pair of charity tosses from Abrams.
Hayesville improved its record to 5-2 overall and 1-0 in the Smoky Mountain Conference. Swain County fell to 0-2 in the SMC and 3-4 overall.
“I thought they all did great,” Thompson said. “They did a great job meeting their passes and handing the pressure that Swain threw at us. They’re a great team and they have really good defensive pressure that’s hard to handle. I was really proud of how we handled that.”
Krieger didn’t start the game, but provided a spark off the bench with Hayesville in the driver’s seat, 15-8.
Krieger gave the Yellow Jackets a shot in the wing by stealing the ball and swishing a jump shot, depositing two passes from Briley Clampitt, collecting a pair of defensive rebounds and scoring a lay-up on a fast break on an assist from Shook — all in a span of 3:05.
“She had that one run where she made three or four shots in a row and that just kind of helped separate,” Thompson remarked. “She works on her shot every day, so we know she can hit. To see her hit in a game is really good.”
Krieger’s heroics gave Hayesville a 24-15 cushion entering halftime.
Krieger finished with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting, four rebounds and two steals.
Peck tallied 10 points on 5-of-9 firing, three rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Abrams had 5 points, five rebounds and two assists. Ashe had a team-high four steals, two assists and 2 points. Graves added five rebounds, two steals and two points and didn’t make a turnover. Clampitt had two rebounds, two assists and a steal.
“I just felt like all the girls, one through 10 really contributed. I’m very proud of them,” Thompson said.
Hayesville 39,
Highlands 38
Hayesville’s coaches also wore smiles when the Yellow Jackets won an overtime thriller, 39-38, over visiting Highlands last week.
Two free throws by Peck — her first of the night and Hayesville’s only two points in the bonus period — with :04.8 left in overtime provided the margin of victory. Shook sealed the deal with steal on the ensuing inbound.
Both played superbly. Peck rifled in 5-of-10 shots from the field, cleared six rebounds and scored a team-high 12 points. Shook tallied 7 points, handed out five assists, made three steals and committed only one error.
“It was a great win for us. We got in some foul trouble early in the game but were still able to keep a lead in the first half,” McClure stated. “It was wire to wire until the end.”
Graves collected a team-high seven rebounds to go with 2 points, two assists and two steals. Ashe tallied 8 points and made just one error. Krieger added 5 points and two boards. Clampitt had four rebounds, Abrams three.
“We really emphasized playing great defense and rebounding going into the game and that was the difference,” McClure said.
Hayesville led 11-9 after the first period, 19-17 at the half and 26-23 after three quarters against the most improved team in the conference.
Highlands lost its first seven games by an average of 21.4 points before dropping a pair of overtime games, losing by 8 to Hiwassee Dam and most recently beating Murphy, 34-28.
“Highlands’ record is not indicative of what kind of team they are. They have played a lot of people close,” McClure remarked.