Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Hayesville sharpshooter Emma Ashe lofts one of her four three-pointers on the way to a 22-point explosion at Hiwassee Dam.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Emma Ashe torched the nets, Ava Shook picked and dished while Breanna Abrams and Mallory Peck wiped the glass clean as Hayesville’s varsity girls plucked Hiwassee Dam’s Eagles 62-36 last Tuesday.
“It was a great win for us in a tough environment. I’m really proud of our players and coaches,” Hayesville Coach Chad McClure stated.
Everyone in Clay County should be proud. The Lady Yellow Jackets totally dominated a team with an 11-2 record that beat Hayesville, 54-51, on Nov. 21.
The Hiwassee Dam girls may be still trying to figure out what hit them. After all, the Hayesville girls didn’t shoot any better than they did seven weeks ago and only made three fewer turnovers, 21 to 18. What went differently this time out?
“We shot the ball much better and got out in transition early in the game,” McClure said. “This team is still young but they are competing, understanding roles, sharing the ball, rebounding and playing solid defense. Good things tend to happen when teams do those things.”
Three statistics speak to how much better the Lady Jackets are understanding their roles: Hayesville had 42 rebounds, 17 assists and 11 steals in the rematch — compared to 29 rebounds, eight assists and 11 steals in the first meeting.
Ashe understands that her job is to shoot, a role McClure reinforced during a second-half timeout when he told his sophomore sharpshooter, “Keep shooting the ball.” Ashe obediently nailed 4-of-10 from distance, 8-of-16 from the field and 2-of-2 from the free throw line for a team-high 22 points.
Shook realizes that she is the engine that makes the machine go. Her primary duties are to push the ball up court, quarterback the offense, score and set the tone on defense. She performed those tasks and others with poise and precision at Hiwassee Dam discombobulating the Eagles with eight steals, eight assists, four rebounds and 21 points on 7-of-13 from the field, 5-of-10 beyond the three-point arch and 2-of-2 from the charity line.
Breanna Abrams embraced her role as hyper pest who relishes relieving opponents of the Spaulding, pursues missed shots like a hungry bounty hunter after a fugitive and relentlessly probes defensives in search of a path to the basket. Being the shortest player on the court is no deterrent, Abrams pulled down 13 rebounds in addition to handing out three assists and making two steals at Hiwassee Dam.
Mallory Peck, Bryleigh Krieger and Brooke Graves understand they are expected to make open shots in and around the paint, grab boards and lock down opposing post players. All three did their jobs.
Peck scored 8 points and collected 10 caroms. Krieger made all four of her shots and collared five rebounds and made just one turnover. Graves contributed three steals and two boards.
The three were especially impressive in the relentless way they discouraged point-blank shots. Every Hayesville player understood that they absolutely must be aggressive at all times.
Hiwassee Dam didn’t score a single basket from the paint in the first quarter and only scored 4 points from in close during the first half. The game was over by then.
Hayesville roared to a 10-0 lead and expanded the advantage to 18-2 as Ashe scored 10 points and Shook added 8 going into the second quarter and led 31-16 at the half.
The Lady Jackets kept the hosts in the rear view mirror after the intermission by continuing to do their jobs. That included contributions from Briley Clampitt, 2 points, two rebounds, Jasmine Brooks, two rebounds, and Ava Moore off the bench.
It also included a total team effort to blanket All-Conference center Olivia McNabb every time she touched the ball. McNabb scored her first basketball with 1:44 on the third-quarter clock and finished with 10 points.
Hayesville 10-4 overall and 2-1 in Smoky Mountain Conference action may have played its best game at Hiwassee Dam. There’s still room for improvement for the Lady Jackets who had four wins and nine losses at this point a year ago.
“We have a lot of games left to play. We just have to keep working to improve,” McClure remarked.