Lady Yellow Jackets Mallory Peck, No. 35, Emma Ashe, No. 24, and Ava Shook swarm a Summit player.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Hayesville’s varsity girls basketball team has won six games in a row for the first time since 2019.
The Lady Yellow Jackets extended their streak and upped their record to 12-4 by smoking Blue Ridge Early College, 56-13, on Tuesday and dismantling Summit Charter School, 70-16, the next night.
Yes, those scores are correct.
That doesn’t mean anyone should order a 2024 State Champions banner to hang in the gym. Not yet, anyway.
Last week’s victims have a combined record of 2-16. The toughest part of the schedule is upon us.
“We stressed getting out to great starts in both games,” Hayesville Coach Chad McClure said. “We’ve been working on improving our transition game and it helped create early scoring opportunities and high percentage shots. Our rebounding and defense was solid and we shot the ball effectively.”
Hayesville 56, Blue Ridge Early College 13
The Yellow Jackets surged to a 22-2 first-quarter lead, kept their sneakers on the host’s neck for a 40-2 halftime advantage, and waltzed through the second half as the starters sat most of the time.
Hayesville blitzed the Bobcats with 43 percent, 21-of-49, shooting from the field, 22 steals on defense and 35 rebounds.
Ava “Unshakable” Shook played her usual complete game, leading the victors with 12 points and eight steals. She also made 5-of-8 from the field, swished both free throws and handed out two assists while only committing one turnover.
Breanna Abrams was also everywhere, with five rebounds, four points, four steals and two assists.
The entire cast was impressive.
Emma Ashe tossed in five points, grabbed three boards and made two steals and just one error.
Bryleigh Krieger contributed five points, three rebounds and two steals.
Jasmine Brooks nailed 3-of-3 free throws for five points to go with two rebounds and two assists.
Mallory Peck totaled six rebounds and five points.
Kayla Brown had five rebounds and canned 2-of-4 from the field for four points.
Ava Moore also scored four on 2-of-4 shooting and took down five boards.
Briley Clampitt tallied seven points by making 1-of-1 from three-pointland and 2-of-3 at the line. Kadence Morrow added three points. Brooke Graves and Aallyah Jackson had two points apiece.
Hayesville 70, Summit 16
The Lady Jackets didn’t shoot as well from the floor when Summit visited on Wednesday, but Hayesville made a respectable 38 percent of three-point tries, swished 4-of-5 charity tosses and played beautifully overall.
Most notably: the Lady Jackets only made four turnovers.
Hayesville’s triple threat back court set the tone from the get-go. The Lady Jackets went up 3-0 when Ashe fed Shook for a three ball, and 6-0 when Ashe took a pass from Abrams and banged home a long-distance bomb.
The first quarter ended with Hayesville leading 23-2 thanks to 11 points by Shook and assists by Abrams, Ashe, Krieger, Peck and Brooks.
Hayesville kept bringing the heat, cruising to a 43-2 halftime lead and 59-12 advantage after three quarters.
Shook led the charge with 13 points, 3-of-5 three-pointing, six steals, five rebounds and two assists with a single turnover.
Ashe contributed 10 points on two three-pointers and 2-of-4 field goal popping, four assists and two steals.
Abrams made 1-of-2 treys and 2-of-2 free throws for five points, commandeered three rebounds and had three assists and two steals.
Morrow had the hottest hand, scoring eight points, 3-of-5 from the field, 1-of-1 free throws and 2-of-4 three-pointers. She also had two thefts.
Brooks chipped in 10 points on a pair of three-pointers and 2-of-4 field goal shooting. She also had two rebounds and two assists with no turnovers.
Peck bucketed 4-of-8 shots for eight points. She also took down four rebounds and had two assists and two blocked shots.
Graves posted seven boards, three assists and four points, 2-of-3 field goals.
Jackson had eight rebounds and two points.
Moore scored five points on 2-of-3 popping.
Krieger corralled eight caroms. Clampitt had four rebounds, Brown three.
The Lady Jackets looked to extend their win streak this week with games Tuesday at Andrews; Wednesday - Nantahala at Hayesville and Friday - Murphy at Hayesville.
Is Hayesville ready? We’ll see.
“We have to stay focused and keep improving,” McClure stated.