Gary Corsair• Clay County Progress Hayesville Coach Chad McClure questions a technical foul assessed to a Lady Yellow Jacket involved in a tussle for a rebound during the closing minutes of the varsity's win over Robbinsville.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Hayesville will play for not one, but two Smoky Mountain Conference tournament championships on Friday.
Both varsity basketball teams advanced to the finals with come-from-behind victories Tuesday.
The Lady Yellow Jackets (20-5) defeated Robbinsville for the third time this season to earn a berth in Friday’s title tilt with Cherokee (22-1), which is quite possibly the best 1-A team in the state. Tipoff is at 6 p.m. on the Lady Braves home floor. Cherokee defeated Hayesville, 69-16, on Feb. 2.
Friday’s varsity boys championship game pits Murphy (16-9) against Hayesville (13-13). The Yellow Jackets advanced to the lightning round by knocking off Swain, which beat Hayesville twice by double-digits earlier in the year. Tipoff will follow the girls game.
Here’s a summary of Tuesday’s action:
Varsity girls
Hayesville trailed by 10 early in the second quarter before tightening up the defense and finding rhythm from behind the three-arch on the way to a 46-35 win over Robbinsville.
The comeback began when Brooke Graves scored off a sweet bounce pass from Emma Ashe. That began a 10-0 Hayesville run of another basket by Graves, four free throws, two steals and a deflection by Ava “Unshakeable” Shook, steals by Graves and Ashe, and two free throws by Bryleigh Krieger that helped the Lady Jackets knot the score at 18-all at the half.
Hayesville claimed a 21-18 lead when Ashe whipped the ball to Shook for a three-pointer two minutes into the third period. The Lady Jackets led the rest of the way.
Hayesville’s aggressive defense produced 10 steals and forced bad shots. Robbinsville made just 1-of-15 three-point attempts.
Shook led a balanced Lady Yellow Jackets attack with 16 points, 8-of-9 free throw shooting, five rebounds, four steals and two deflections.
Graves played superbly, throwing herself into fray after fray for three rebounds and blocked shot, and 8 points on 3-of-5 shooting and 2-of-3 from the line. Breanna Abrams troubled Robbinsville with 8 points and seven rebounds. Ashe added 5 points, three assists, three rebounds, and two steals. Krieger chipped in 5 points and four boards. Mallory Peck had five rebounds, 3 points and a blocked shot. Briley Clampitt had two assists.
Varsity boys
Swain County came back from trailing by 9 to leading by 1 with a surge late in the third quarter, but Hayesville didn’t fold during a fourth period that saw three lead changes in the opening 2:30.
The Yellow Jackets proceeded to break the game open with intensity manifest by heady defense, slashing drives into the lane, clean floor play and timely shooting that produced an exciting 59-47 victory.
Hayesville snapped the Maroon Devils’ pitchfork by committing just eight turnovers and hitting 13-of-25 shots from the field, 7-of-15 from distance, and 15-of-19 free throws.
The Jackets clung to a 47-45 lead when the boys in black seized momentum for good midway through the fourth quarter. Slade Crouch threw the switch when he drilled a 3-pointer off a feed from Jacob McClure. Luke Lee provided breathing room by dropping in a pull-up jump shot off a pass from Jackson Sellers. Hayesville 52, Swain 45. Maroon Devil momma, start the station wagon.
Hayesville preserved the win with scintillating play in the final minute. Floor general Asher Brown scored on a sweet reverse lay-up on a side out and later dropped in two free throws, Isaac Chandler canned two freebies and defensive rebounds by Chandler, Crouch and McClure put the kibosh on Swain’s dream of a comeback.
Chandler was in beast mode from the opening tip. Hayesville’s hype hoopster burned the Devils with 16 points, 10-of-14 free throwing, and 11 rebounds. He also drew two charging fouls.
Hayesville’s beautifully balanced attack included 9 points, seven rebounds and three assists from “Mr. Perpetual Motion” Crouch, 11 points and three boards from McClure, 6 points, three rebounds and two assists from scrappy Landon Hughes, 4 points on 3-of-5 shooting and three boards by Lee and three rebounds and 2 points by Sellers.
JV girls
Hayesville’s Kadence Morrow won individual scoring honors, but Cherokee won the game, 48-37, by gradually increasing its lead in each of the final three quarters.
Morrow burned the Lady Braves with a season-high 21 points, but Hayesville’s spirited efforts to catch up was hampered by 30 turnovers and 20 points by Cherokee’s Brooklyn Panther.
Hayesville’s team effort included 6 points from Danielle Anderson, 5 by Aaliyah Jackson and two apiece by Kayla Eller, Olivia Free and Lilly Dockery. Eller also had three offensive rebounds.
JV boys
Hayesville’s JV boys were eliminated Monday night.