.
On Tuesday, Feb. 1, the varsity Lady Yellow Jacket basketball team traveled to Swain to take on the Maroon Devils in a Smoky Mountain Conference challenge. Hayesville came up on the short end of a 55-43 score. The following day, Tuesday, Jan. 2, Hayesville dominated Nantahala at home with a 85-22 victory. The Lady Jackets finished there week in Cherokee where they fell by the final of 70-39.
In the first challenge of the week, the Lady Jackets found themselves under attack early on. Swain came out in the first quarter appearing unstoppable and outscored Hayesville 17-6. Lila Roberts contributed 4 of Hayesville’s 6 points.
Hayesville bounced back in the second quarter and outscored Swain 15-12 to close the gap. It was a total team effort by the Lady Jackets with six players adding points to the board. Aggressive play put both teams on the foul line for a total of 10 foul shots. The Lady Devils led 29-21 at the half.
Scoring dried up for both teams in the third quarter. Although Hayesville only managed 4 points in the quarter, it was enough to gain on Swain. The Lady Jacket defense held strong, limiting the Lady Devils to 3 points, making the lead to 32-25 by quarter’s end.
The final quarter of the game was intense on both sides of the court. Swain got into foul trouble which led to the Lady Jackets hitting 12 from the free throw line. Payne added 6 of the 12 points. The Lady Devils made their way past the Jackets defense and connected with the basket adding 23 points to take the win 55-43.
About the game, coach Chad McClure said, “I thought we played with great effort the entire game. We had some foul trouble early, but kept ourselves in the game defensively. We have to improve on scoring opportunities moving forward.”
The Lady Jackets hosted Nantahala the following night in a non-conference game. Hayesville took the court ready to make a statement, scoring 26 points in the first quarter. The Lady Hawks made connections with the rim adding 10. Payne rattled the rims with a pair of 3-pointers. .
Defense was on display in the third quarter and the Lady Jackets limited Nantahala to 4 points. On the offensive side of the floor, Hayesville was unstoppable, adding another 25 points to build a lead of 57-14.
Cecilia Jones stripped the nets with three 2-pointers during the third quarter. The Jackets hit double digits of 19 points and held the Lady Hawks to four for a 70-18 lead at the end of the third.
The fourth quarter sealed the win the Lady Jackets grabbing 15 points and holding the Lady Hawks to four, giving the home team an 85-22 victory.
“It was a good win at home and everyone got playing time,” said McClure following the win.
For the final battle of the week, the Lady Jackets traveled to Cherokee for a conference game against the Lady Braves.
Cherokee took the court in the first quarter and defensively held the Jackets to 5 points, while adding 18 to their side of the board. Mallory Peck scored 4 of Hayesville’s 5 points with a 2-pointer and 2 from the charity line.
In the second quarter, the Lady Jackets were held back by Cherokee’s defense. The Lady Braves held Hayesville to just 6 points in the quarter while growing their lead with 14 points.
The Lady Jackets found some scoring success in the third quarter with 11 points. While Cherokee’s defense slipped a bit, their offense didn’t slow as the Lady Braves drained 24 points to take a 57-22 lead.
The Jackets gave the final quarter of the game all they had and it payed off with 17 points. Cherokee’s defense once again couldn’t stop Hayesville’s ladies from the connecting with the rim. Hayesville outscored the Braves 17-13 in the fourth, but the lead was out of reach. Cherokee took the conference victory 70-39.
“Cherokee is a solid team, ranked high in the state,” said McClure. “We came out flat and never matched their intensity. Turnovers were a problem for us again. We have to fix that area moving forward.”
Hayesville had a rematch with Cherokee on Monday, Jan. 7 in The Hive. The Lady Jackets came up short, losing the game 62-25. Freshman Mallory Peck was Hayesville’s leading scorer with 11 points.