By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Cherokee easily earned the Smoky Mountain Conference Girls Basketball Tournament crown by overwhelming Hayesville, 63-24, in the Darryl K. McClure Gymnasium on Saturday, but not before the Lady Braves received a noogie.
Hayesville (16-11) got the attention of Cherokee (22-2) with a first-quarter effort that was downright inspiring.
The Lady Yellow Jackets clearly weren’t in awe of the defending state champs. Hayesville grabbed four rebounds, broke Cherokee’s press and Ava Shook intercepted a pass during a scoreless opening 3 minutes.
Then, a slap in the Braves’ collective face when Bryleigh Krieger picked off a cross-court pass, charged up-court and fed Shook for a fast-break layup that put Hayesville up 2-0 that pick, pass and put-in was one of the most beautiful moments of the season.
Cherokee threatened to blow the game open with a pair of steals that produced layups and a 6-2 lead, but Hayesville stayed the course.
Jasmine Brooks fearlessly drove the baseline, lofted a shot that rimmed out and Mallory Peck rebounded the rock, drew a foul and swished both free throws. Cherokee 6, Hayesville 4.
Krieger’s rebound of a Cherokee miss led to another delectable moment when Abrams boldly barreled into the lane, fought through the double hug of two grabbing defenders and powered the ball into the basket to tie the game at 6-all.
The score remained deadlocked until :33 on the first-quarter clock.
The rest of the game was a disaster. Cherokee finished the first act with six unanswered points, then rolled to a 28-6 lead with the help of 10 Hayesville errors during the first 6 minutes of the second quarter.
The second half was just as one-sided.
“I wish we could have kept it closer. Our effort was great,” Hayesville Coach Chad McClure remarked.
The Lady Jackets shot a respectable 6-of-16 from the field and 12-of-20 from the charity stripe, but were hampered by 30 turnovers and 0-of-6 flinging from 3-point range. Cherokee’s 41 rebounds also contributed to Hayesville’s woes, but it was the Lady Braves aggressive defense that derailed the locals.
The speedy visitors trapped all over the court, forced more than a dozen jump balls and repeatedly knocked Lady Jackets down while trying to make steals. Some fouls were called, many were not.
The lead was 48-15 when the low point of the game occurred when Clampitt went to the floor at the feet of three opponents during a scramble for the ball under the Cherokee basket.
The whistle blew, but Cherokee’s Whitney Riley continued to hover over Briley. When Abrams stepped forward, put a hand on Rogers’ back and reportedly said “Get off her,” Rogers assaulted Breanna with a two-hand shove. When Lil’ Dynamite pushed back, Rogers shoved her into the wall and pounced on her. The tussle brought coaches and school officials onto the court. Order was quickly restored and technical fouls assessed to both combatants. Rogers was ejected, but allowed to sit on the bench under supervision.
That wasn’t the only disturbing moment. A Hayesville High School official warned a Cherokee fan to stop making disparaging remarks, another Cherokee booster was escorted from the gym for his brand of cheering, two Hayesville fans repeatedly made obscene gestures toward Cherokee fans, and the Lady Braves’ Joscelyn Stamper earned a T for saying something untold within earshot of a referee. Peck, who was fouled on the play, sank 3-of-4 freebies.
Peck finished with five rebounds and six points on 6-of-8 free throwing.
Krieger posted seven rebounds and four points on 2-of-2 field goal shooting.
Shook kicked in six points, two assists and stellar point guard play. Abrams contributed four points and three boards. Clampitt had four boards and three points. Brooks added a point and Emma Ashe had a steal.