Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Hayesville's Ava Shook, No. 2, stops on a dime and drops 2 on Andrews.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Hayesville’s Lady Jackets won two out of three games last week, but came up short against the team Coach Chad McClure really, really wanted to beat.
The Lady Jackets had Murphy down 11-7 after one quarter and Hayesville trailed by just one at the half, but the black-and-gold went cold after the intermission.
“Effort was great. We don’t ever question their effort. Trying to get them to do some things differently. They’re listening, but we’ve got to make shots. That’s a big part of the game. When you don’t score it affects other areas,” McClure said.
This week, Hayesville (8-7 overall, 3-3 Smoky Mountain Conference) has three opportunities to fill up the basket when Swain visits on Tuesday, the Lady Jackets travel to Blue Ridge Early College on Wednesday, and defending state champion Cherokee visits Friday.
Hayesville 45, Andrews 34
Hayesville didn’t burn up the nylon, but merely searing the nets was enough to trump Andrews by 11 points Tuesday at home.
That’s because the Lady Jackets did the little things that translate into wins with shots.
“I thought our rebounding and defense gave us chances,” McClure said. “We hit some big shots in critical times.”
Indeed, they did. A Lady Jacket stepped up and tripped the scoreboard each time Andrews threatened to pull even or take the lead.
Mallory Peck started the trend on a missed shot with :14 left in the third quarter when she wrestled the ball away from two Wildcats and deposited the rock to extend Hayesville’s hold to 31-26.
When Andrews opened the fourth quarter with a basket to again make it a three-point game, Breanna Abrams delivered the big shot. Lil’ Dynamite scooted along the baseline and scored to give the Lady Jackets a 33-28 advantage.
After an Andrews miss, Abrams delivered the ball to Peck on the low block and Mighty Mal swished to make it 35-28 with 6:23 remaining.
Andrews desperately tried to catch up with full court pressure and 3-point attempts, but the Lady Jackets stepped on the ‘Cats’ tail and didn’t let up.
Hayesville outscored the visitors 10-3 during the final 6 minutes as Ava Shook and Abrams repeatedly dribbled the ball through the press.
During that span of time, Bryleigh Krieger grabbed seven rebounds and aced 2 free throws, Emma Ashe drained a pair of huge 3-pointers and Abrams bucketed 2 from the charity stripe, snared two defensive boards and threw herself on the floor attempting to get a third.
Krieger finished with 10 rebounds to go with 5 points. Abrams totaled 7 points and six boards.
Ashe played errorless ball and led Hayesville’s balanced offense with 9 points, all on triples.
Shook was a whirlwind in tallying 7 points, four rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
Peck cashed in 3-of-6 shots, scored 7 points and had four boards. Jasmine Brooks drained 2-of-3 shots for 4 points and collected three boards. Briley Clampitt had five rebounds and 3 points. Kayla Brown earned five rebounds and scored 2. Brooke Graves had two assists.
Andrews led from the tipoff through the middle of the second quarter. Then Hayesville took control.
“We had one of our better nights shooting wise,” McClure said. “Scoring wise, we’re pretty balanced. I thought Mallory played real well inside with them collapsing on her. “
Murphy 47, Hayesville 37
One subpar quarter doomed the Lady Jackets.
“Murphy’s a good team, much improved,” McClure remarked. “It was a pretty even game, except for one stretch in the third quarter when they made some shots on us. We told the girls after the game, ‘They made more shots than we did. That was the difference.’ It was a physical game.”
The third-quarter lull in which Murphy outscored Hayesville 17-7 gave the Lady Bulldogs a 36-35 lead entering the final period. The cushion would be more than enough.
Hayesville needed 3-pointers but missed six in a row during the final stanza.
On the game, the Lady Jackets were just 2-of-18 (11 percent) from behind the arch. The team’s 3-point percentage was six percent before Shook delivered a long ball with :34 remaining.
The two-point stats were a healthier 42 percent thanks to Krieger going 4-of-6, Peck hitting 4-of-7 and Kayla Brown bucketing all three of her shots.
“Kayla’s really improved. She gave us some good minutes,” McClure said. “Jasmine gave us some good minutes too.”
So did Abrams, who kept Hayesville in the game by scoring 6 of her team’s 7 second-quarter points. She finished with three rebounds.
Peck gave Murphy fits with 16 rebounds, including eight on the offensive end. She also made two steals.
Shook had 7 points, three assists and seven rebounds, including three on Hayesville misses.
Krieger had 8 points and six rebounds. Ashe added three rebounds and a pair of assists. Brooks scored a point.
Hayesville 68, Blue Ridge EC 27
The Lady Jackets throttled the visitors with a balanced attack at both ends of the court that resulted in a season-high 68 points (with a running clock) on Saturday.
“We got a lot of run-outs in transition, which helps. We got some steals and layups,” McClure remarked. “We did shoot a little better, which is good.”
Hayesville scored 24 points off Blue Ridge errors, grabbed 11 offensive rebounds and made just eight errors in a game that belonged to the Clay County gals from the get-go.
The Lady Jackets sped to a 25-5 first-quarter spread and kept the pedal on the medal in handing the Bobcats’ six players their seventh loss in 11 outings.
Shook and Abrams led the way. Unshakeable Ave finished with 15 points and two assists, while Lil’ Dynamite posted 14 points, two assists and two blocks.
Krieger knocked down 11 points and took possession of four offensive rebounds.
Hayesville had 2 points apiece from Brown 2, Micalynn McClure, Moore 2 and Morrow 2.