By Gary Corsair
Staff Writer
Hayesville’s girls won one and lost two in the 28th Annual Battle of the States Holiday Basketball Tournament, but the Lady Yellow Jackets came out of the highly-competitive, three-day tourney with much more than a solitary W.
“I thought we did some good things and are continuing to improve,” Hayesville Coach Chad McClure said. “We played some good teams which will help us as we move forward.”
Senior guard Lila Roberts did enough good things to be named to the All-Tournament Team.
Rip-Roarin’ Roberts averaged 6.9 points and nearly 5 boards per game and made 3-of-7 3-point bombs.
Roberts provided consistency and leadership at both ends of the court as her young teammates continued to show improvement.
The improved play was most evident Thursday when the Lady Yellow Jackets raced to a 10-0 lead and kept swinging the big stick in a 40-26 victory over Coosa.
Hayesville used pressure defense, smart ball handling, balanced scoring and impressive rebounding.
Everyone hit the boards. Post players Mallory Peck and Bryleigh Krieger had 10 rebounds each, and Brooke Graves came off the bench to pull down 5 more. The guards also cleaned lots of glass. Lila Roberts grabbed 7 rebounds, Ava Shook collected, and Breanna Adams had 2 off the bench.
Roberts led the scoring attack with 10 markers, to go with 3 steals and 2 assists. Shook burned the nets with 4-of-7 shooting from the field and 3-of-3 at the free throw line for 8 points. She also had 3 steals and 3 assists. Peck also scored 8. Krieger added 5. Abrams added 3 points. Emma Ashe had an assist and provided clingy defense. Briley Clampitt chipped in 4 points on 2-of-3 field goal popping.
Hayesville led 20-9 at the half before Coosa made a serious run in the third quarter with 6 unanswered points to trim the lead to 24-19. The Yellow Jackets put an end to that nonsense with a sweet inbound play that sprung Roberts for a 2-pointer with 1:22 on the clock. A blink later, Shook delivered the rock to Clampitt, who found bottom of the net. Next, Roberts stole the ball and got it to Kreiger, who was fouled. Krieger hit the front end to lift Hayesville to an insurmountable 29-19 lead entering the final act.
Five Lady Yellow Jackets scored in the fourth period in which Graves, Peck and Shook dominated the glass to squash any Coosa thoughts of a comeback.
Hayesville had one of its best shooting nights, canning 8-of-10 free throws and 2-of-5 from beyond the 3-point line.
Polk County 61, Hayesville 29
Hayesville couldn’t match Polk County in points on Friday, but the Lady Yellow Jackets certainly weren’t doubled up in the effort department.
So why did Hayesville take it on the chin, 61-29? Because Polk County is really good. The Lady Wildcats were too tall and too fast for Hayesville.
They were pretty physical as well. Peck was knocked out of the game with a shoulder ailment and put Abrams’ nose was bloodied when she was knocked to the hardwood.
Hayesville trailed 33-13 at the half, but got its act together in the second half with 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 popping from the charity stripe. Polk County maintained its advantage by repeatedly ramming the ball inside for high-percentage shots and made 7-of-7 from the charity stripe in the final two periods. The Lady Wildcats were 12-of-12 from the free throw line on the night.
The taller Lady Wildcats also displayed superiority in rebounding, keeping Hayesville's starting bigs from claiming a single board. Brooke Graves was the first Hayesville post player to grab a rebound. That happened in the fourth period.
Graves also had a hot hand, cashing in on three consecutive possessions to finish the night with 6 points on perfect shooting.
Shook was Hayesville's leading scorer with 7. The Splendid Splinter also earned 4 rebounds and 3 steals.
Peck had 4 points on 2-of-5 shooting. Abrams also had 4, as well as 2 rebounds. Lakota Shelton collected 2 rebounds.
Rabun County 61, Hayesville 25
The Lady Yellow Jackets played with intensity, determination and intelligence against the No. 5 ranked team in Georgia Class 1-A on Wednesday. In fact, Hayesville may have played its best four quarters of the year. Rabun County, 9-1, just had too much firepower.
Rabun County vaulted to an 8-0 lead in the opening 1:49, but Hayesville fought back after a timeout, scoring 5 unanswered points on a put back by Peck and a 3-pointer by Shook.
The long ball was one of only three the Lady Yellow Jackets were able to launch from behind the arch as the Wildcats aggressively defended Hayesville's shooters.
Rabun County tried to break the game open with a run of 12 unanswered points in the first 6 minutes of the second quarter, but Hayesville kept its composure and closed out the first half with a 7-0 surge on a Roberts' 3-pointer, a free throw by Peck, and Graves bucket at the buzzer.
The Rabun County girls entered the locker room with a 26-13 lead, which likely led to a bit of posterior chewing. Regardless of how the message was delivered, it was clearly received — stifling defense limited Hayesville to 1-of-8 shooting and just 3 points in the third period as the Wildcats outscored the Jackets 13-3 in the stanza.
Rabun County played subs most of the fourth period.
Rabun County's constant trapping contributed to 33 Hayesville turnovers. Hayesville's woes were compound by 27% shooting from the field and 3-of-11, 27 percent from the charity stripe.
Numbers aside, the Lady Jackets did a lot of things well. They screened. They boxed out. They made sharp cuts to the basket. They didn't force low-percentage shots. They didn't throw ill-advised passes. They helped on defense. And they never quit.
In short, Hayesville grew as a team. And that bodes well for the second half of the season.
Peck led Hayesville with 7 rebounds and 7 points on 3-of-4 shooting.
Roberts added 5 points and 3 rebounds. Shook was 1-of-3 from the field and 1-of-1 from the line for 7 points to go with 2 rebounds. Graves contributed 7 boards and 2 points on 1-of-2 shooting. Abrams had 3 points and 2 steals. Clampitt had 2 points and 2 rebounds. Krieger added 3 rebounds and 1 point. Ashe had 2 rebounds.
Hayesville (3-7) hosted a formidable Robbinsville team on Tuesday. Next up: at Hiwassee Dam (6-5) at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and Nantahala (0-6) at 6:30 p.m. at Hayesville.
Hopefully the Lady Jackets will be 6-7 this time next week.
“We have to continue to work on ball security and improve our offensive efficiency,” Coach McClure stated.