After a lengthy Christmas break, the Lady Yellow Jacket basketball returned to action Saturday, Jan. 4 as they hosted Towns County. After jumping out to an early lead, Hayesville maintained control as they cruised to a 35-14 victory.
It was all Lady Jackets in the opening minutes of the first quarter. Hayesville played a strong defense and owned offensive rebounds which gave them multiple shots. Down 10-0 with 4:03 left in the quarter, Towns County called a timeout to try to stop the Lady Jackets' run. When play resumed, Hayesville was still able to dominate the boards but couldn't get shots to fall as consistently as they had earlier in the quarter. Towns County finally got their first points with 55 seconds on the clock thanks to a break away layup. Towns followed that up with another quick bucket which made the score 11-4 in favor of the Lady Jackets at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter started with Hayesville failing to capitalize on multiple looks at the basket. Midway through the stanza the Lady Jackets zeroed in on the basket to increase their lead to 18-4 when Hayesville head coach Amy Trout called a timeout with 3:03 to play before the half. Towns County made a run of their own and the teams headed into the locker room with the Lady Jackets up 18-9.
Possession exchanges kicked off the third quarter with Hayesville adding a quick 4 points. The damage could have been more extensive but the Lady Jackets struggled to get open shots to fall. Towns County continued to have trouble breaking through Hayesville's defense, keeping their point total at 9 which caused them to call a timeout with 1:45 left in the quarter. Takeaways led to a pair of jumpers for the Lady Jackets in the final seconds to give them a 26-9 lead in the closing seconds. With nothing but zeros on the clock, Towns County netted a foul shot to make the score 26-10 with a quarter left to play.
The Lady Indians opened the fourth with a bucket which Hayesville quickly answered to maintain their 16-point lead. A strong defense continued to allow the Lady Jackets to control the game. Hayesville's dominance underneath the basket on both ends of the court helped secure the 35-14 win.
Leaders vs Towns County
Breanna Cothren: 15 points
Lila Roberts: 8 points
Kaylee Leatherwood: 7 points