Gary Corsair • Clay County Progress Ava Shook scores on an uncontested layup after stealing the ball to increase Hayesville's lead against Swain County.
By Gary Corsair
Sports Writer
Friday’s Smoky Mountain Conference varsity girls basketball meeting between Hayesville and Swain County was only a ballgame for a minute-and-a-half.
The Maroon Devils led 4-2 when Hayesville’s Emma Ashe stole the ball to detonate an offensive explosion of 16 unanswered points by the Lady Jackets.
Fittingly, Ashe was responsible for the first boom — a beautiful 3-point swish off a pass from Ava Shook that put Hayesville up 6-4 with 6:22 on the first quarter clock.
The Lady Jackets (2-2 overall, 1-0 conference) never trailed again. In fact, it took them just three minutes to swell the lead to 11.
The 16-0 run was as refreshing as hot chocolate on a frosty night for a team that hadn’t shot well before blitzing Swain County.
Filling the hoop wasn’t a problem against the Maroon Devils (1-4 overall, 0-1 conference). The Lady Jackets hit 42 percent from the field, 38 percent from 3-point range and 70 percent from the free throw.
Hayesville was hottest during the 16-0 outburst which saw Shook turn a steal into a lay-up and nail a 3-pointer and Mallory Peck scored four consecutive baskets in the paint on two feeds by Ashe, one by Bryleigh Krieger and by Shook.
“We started the game very strong, which was important on the road in a tough environment,” Hayesville Coach Chad McClure remarked.
Hayesville led by 10 points at the end of the first quarter, 14 at the half and 23 after three. The high-water mark came early in the final act when Briley Clampitt’s bucket gave the Black-and-Gold a 25-point advantage.
Swain was rocked and shocked by the tremendous tandem of Shook and Peck, who combined for 32 points, the total of Swain’s entire team.
Hayesville’s solid gold girls did much more than tickle twine. Shook hit 4-of-7 from the field, 2-of-3 from behind the arch and 6-of-8 free throws for 18 points. She also had five steals, four assists, two rebounds and committed just one turnover. Peck drilled 5-of-7 first-half shots, finished 7-of-13, scored 14 points, captured seven rebounds and made just one turnover.
The supporting cast was also impressive.
Clampitt collected four rebounds and tallied 6 points and two steals. Ashe connected on 2-of-4 3-pointers, collected two boards, had two assists and a steal. Krieger nailed both shots she put up, scored 4 points and cleaned glass twice. Breanna Abrams had 3 points on 1-of-2 shooting from distance, three assists and two rebounds.
Brooke Graves, Jasmine Brooks and Ava Moore also contributed.
“We had our best shooting game so far and were very active defensively,” McClure said. “Its always nice to get an early conference win on the road.”
Hayesville took the road to Cherokee on Tuesday. The Lady Jackets welcome Towns County to the Hive on Saturday.