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Photo by Kelli Graves / Clay County Progress
In a rematch of a second round Battle of the States game, the Lady Yellow Jacket varsity basketball team played host to their state-line rivals, the Lady Indians of Towns County. For the second time in eight days, the Lady Jackets downed their rivals, this time by the final of 46-37.
There was definitely a "feeling out" period early as the teams exchange possessions without scoring. Hayesville's Lila Payne finally broke through with a 3-pointer to give the Lady Jackets the first lead of the game. Breanna Burnette followed with a long 2-pointer and Jade Patterson sent a shot through the net from the arch to give the Lady Jackets 8 points at the midway point of the quarter. Towns County found shooting success themselves, putting 6 points by the 3-minute mark. Hayesville managed to put a small gap between themselves and the Lady Indians to end the quarter up 15-10.
Momentum was on the side of Towns County to start the second as the Lady Indians drained a 3-point shot pull within 2. On their end of the floor, the Lady Jackets used ball movement to control the pace. Payne got the first Hayesvlle bucket with 4:28 left in the half with a steal and a layup. She followed that up with a 3 pointer from the corner on the Lady Jackets' next possession to put Hayesville up 20-13. Towns County tightened down on defense, slowing down scoring for the home team. Thanks to a jump ball, the Lady Indians got the last shot, one they couldn't get to fall. Hayesville's coach Chad McClure took his team into the the halftime break leading 20-13.
Towns County opened the third with a bucket to pull within 5 points of the lead and a pair of foul shots on their following possession tightened the gap to 20-17. Burnette answered for Hayesville with two free trows of her on but a 3-pointer from the Lady Indians kept Towns County within striking distance. Payne and Burnette teamed for a pair of 3 point shots, pulling Hayesville ahead 28-20 and forcing the Lady Indians to take a timeout. Both teams used a press defense to create turnovers and scoring opportunities. A timeout with 1:49 left on the clock came with the Lady Jackets leading 32-22. Towns County managed to sink a 3-pointer before the buzzer, cutting Hayesville's lead to 32-25 with one quarter to play.
The Lady Jackets played keep away to open the final stanza. Hayesville made multiple passes before taking shots to allow time to tick away. Patterson hit a 3 from the far corner to extend the lead, causing the Lady Indians' coaching staff to use a timeout. Towns County kept charging the basket for points but the Lady Jackets managed to find open looks and led 39-27 with 3:19 to go. After stealing an inbound pass, the Lady Indians nailed a 3-pointer to close the gap to 9. Trying to limit the amount of time that ran off the clock, Towns County began fouling the Lady Jackets, sending them to the free throw stripe. With 1:48 left in the game, Annie Brooks increased Hayesville's lead to 42-30. The Lady Indians managed to score again but it was too-little-too-late and Hayesville held on for the 46-37 win.
Leaders vs Towns County
Lila Payne: 14 points
Jocelin Buckner: 9 points
Breanna Burnnette: 8 points
Jade Patterson: 7 points