Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Bryleigh Krieger, No. 10, drops two points in Hayesville's win over Andrews.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
The best week of the Hayesville varsity girls basketball season began with a train wreck, but the Lady Yellow Jackets bounced back from a rout in Robbinsville with three convincing wins.
“We didn’t start off real well,” Hayesville Coach Chad McClure said.
The Lady Jackets face even bigger challenges the rest of the way. Hayesville hosts Robbinsville on Thursday following a visit from Murphy on Tuesday. The Smoky Mountain Conference tournament begins Saturday.
“We’re doing some things much better. We’re trying to work the ball inside, passing much better and playing better defense,” McClure said. “It’s been a tough week. We played some good teams. To come out of the week with three wins after Tuesday’s event was just really good. We’ve got to continue to try to get better at the things we’re trying to do. Hopefully we can play our best basketball here at the end.”
Here’s a summary of how Hayesville improved to 12-10 overall and 3-5 in the SMC:
Robbinsville 57,
Hayesville 29
The Lady Jackets imploded with anemic 3-of-22 misfiring from the field, dismal 4-of-27 popping from three-point range, and lackluster 11-of-23 free throwing.
Hayesville wasn’t completely frozen though, Ava Shook drilled 5-of-6 free throws and ‘Mighty’ Mallory Peck was .500 from the field. The Lady Jackets stole the ball 12 times.
Robbinsville broke the game wide open with an 18-0 run in the second quarter.
Shook scored a team-high eight points, cleared five rebounds, made three thefts and handed out two assists. Peck also had seven caroms and didn’t commit a turnover.
Kayla Brown hauled in six boards. Briley Clampitt had six points and three caroms. Bryleigh ‘Special K’ Krieger accounted for four rebounds and two assists. Breanna ‘Lil Dynamite’ Abrams posts four steals, two rebounds and two points. Jasmine Brooks had three points and two steals.
Hayesville 52, Summit Charter 35
The Lady Jackets looked much better 24 hours later.
“We were disappointed Tuesday, we just felt like it was probably one of our worst outings. So we just met with them, talked with them and just challenged them. They responded. They’ve really responded well,” McClure stated.
The response included decent shooting — 19-of-63 from the field, 8-of-24 from the 3-point line and 6-of-10 from the charity stripe — and just 11 turnovers.
Shook led the way as Hayesville commanded a 15-6 first-quarter lead, increased its holdings to 33-12 at halftime and maintained its dominance to the tune of 42-23 after three quarters.
“Ava had a big game against Summit,” McClure remarked after ‘Unshakable’ Shook aced 7-of-14 field goals attempts and 5-of-9 from long distance for 19 points and collected five rebounds, five steals and four assists.
Peck posted eight points and eight rebounds. Abrams hit 2-of-2 free throws, scored five points and collected four rebounds and four steals. Clampitt had six points and three boards. Ava Moore went for five points on 2-of-3 shooting and earned three caroms. Krieger put in five points. Brown added three rebounds and two points. Brooks scored two. Micalynn McClure contributed three boards.
“We’ve had some kids really come in and give us some good solid minutes and gain some confidence,” McClure said. “They’ve all been playing better. They’re doing the things we ask them.”
Hayesville 46, Andrews 34
The Wildcats pulled within a point a few times, but never led as Hayesville used a balanced attack to remain in the driver’s seat from start to finish.
The game was nip-and-tuck until the 2:14 mark of the first quarter. With Hayesville on top 6-5, Brooks fed a wide-open Clampitt, who smoked a three-pointer. Just :24 later, Brooks picked up another assist. This time Shook busted a trey to put Hayesville up 12-5.
The Lady Jackets closed out the first period with a bucket by Peck and another trey by Shook. Hayesville 17, Andrews 10.
The Wildcats fought back in the third and closed the gap to 27-25. Hayesville promptly responded with a basket by Abrams, 29-25. Krieger than forced a turnover.
Andrews pulled within a single basket, but Peck shut the door on the guests by grabbing a missed shot, powering the ball through the hoop and drawing a foul. Her free toss gave Hayesville a 31-27 lead.
The Lady Jackets salted the game away with free throws by Abrams, Shook and Krieger.
Emma Ashe led the way with nine points and didn’t commit a single turnover, Krieger snared 10 rebounds and shot hot — going 2-of-4 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line for six points.
Shook also filled up the stat line with seven points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals with just one turnover. Peck tallied seven points on 3-of-6 popping, hauled down four rebounds and distributed two assists. Abrams had seven points and six boards. Brown pulled five rebounds and scored two points. Brooks scored four points on 2-of-2 popping and had three boards. Clampitt grabbed five rebounds and scored three. Brooke Graves dished twice.
The win was Hayesville’s second over Andrews this season.
Hayesville 43, Highlands 31
Highlands hung around for a quarter, but Hayesville took control by outscoring Highlands 14-6 in the second period and 12-4 in the third.
Highlands outscored the Lady Jackets in the fourth, but couldn’t overcome Hayesville’s bankroll.
Peck led a well-rounded effort with 10 points. Shook and Clampitt tallied nine each.
Books and Ashe had five points apiece. Abrams and Krieger had two points each. McClure added a free throw.