Road Woe-riors
Jamie Shell / (sports@averyjournal.com)
Winning on the road in the Western Highlands Conference is getting downright difficult these days.
For the first time in recent memory, Avery Lady Vikings dropped a pair of consecutive conference games, falling to Madison on Tuesday, Jan. 31, by the final score of 49-45, followed by a 54-45 loss at Mountain Heritage on Friday, Feb. 3, a game which clinched the regular season conference championship for the Lady Cougars.
Madison celebrated Senior Night as the Lady Vikings came to town, and hung tough with the Big Red in the first period, as Avery managed a slim 14-12 lead after eight minutes.
Midway through the second quarter, the Lady Vikings held as large as a nine-point lead at 23-14 following a 9-2 scoring spurt. Madison answered, however, closing the quarter strong to cut Avery's margin to five at 26-21 at halftime. The Lady Patriots' scoring spurt carried into the early third period, a 14-4 scoring run overall, that gave Madison what turned out to be the lead for good at 28-27.
Madison built a lead as large as 10 points at 45-35 midway through the fourth quarter. AHS could only draw as close as two points at 47-45. Lady Patriots guard Cheyenne Bunner sealed the game by converting two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to preserve the upset victory.
Lauren Burleson and Megan Tennant scored 12 points each, as Tennant pulled down 12 rebounds and Burleson grabbed seven boards. Kelsie Clarke added six points, eight rebounds and seven steals before fouling out late in the game. Avery committed 18 turnovers for the game, while forcing 24 turnovers from the Lady Patriots.
Three nights later, the Lady Vikings was on the road again to face its primary adversary in conference play in Mountain Heritage. AHS started the contest with cold shooting and Heritage capitalized by outscoring the Big Red 13-4 in the game's first eight minutes. Avery heated up offensively in the second period, but Heritage remained hot, using a 17-point period to maintain a 30-20 halftime advantage.
The clubs played virtually even throughout the second half, preventing AHS from a scoring run to dig out of the early hole dug for itself as Heritage emerged victorious by a 54-45 final score.
Tennant led Avery with 14 points, with 13 points from Clarke. AHS leading scorer Burleson scored six points, eight points below her season average. Brianna Woody was a force inside, leading Heritage with 21 points, with eight points from Maria Kardulis and six points each from Samm Chandler, Nyssa Freeman and Kaylon Johnson.
AHS hosted Mitchell earlier this week for Senior Night and will begin WHC tournament play next week at Polk County High School.
For the first time in recent memory, Avery Lady Vikings dropped a pair of consecutive conference games, falling to Madison on Tuesday, Jan. 31, by the final score of 49-45, followed by a 54-45 loss at Mountain Heritage on Friday, Feb. 3, a game which clinched the regular season conference championship for the Lady Cougars.
Madison celebrated Senior Night as the Lady Vikings came to town, and hung tough with the Big Red in the first period, as Avery managed a slim 14-12 lead after eight minutes.
Midway through the second quarter, the Lady Vikings held as large as a nine-point lead at 23-14 following a 9-2 scoring spurt. Madison answered, however, closing the quarter strong to cut Avery's margin to five at 26-21 at halftime. The Lady Patriots' scoring spurt carried into the early third period, a 14-4 scoring run overall, that gave Madison what turned out to be the lead for good at 28-27.
Madison built a lead as large as 10 points at 45-35 midway through the fourth quarter. AHS could only draw as close as two points at 47-45. Lady Patriots guard Cheyenne Bunner sealed the game by converting two free throws with 10 seconds remaining to preserve the upset victory.
Lauren Burleson and Megan Tennant scored 12 points each, as Tennant pulled down 12 rebounds and Burleson grabbed seven boards. Kelsie Clarke added six points, eight rebounds and seven steals before fouling out late in the game. Avery committed 18 turnovers for the game, while forcing 24 turnovers from the Lady Patriots.
Three nights later, the Lady Vikings was on the road again to face its primary adversary in conference play in Mountain Heritage. AHS started the contest with cold shooting and Heritage capitalized by outscoring the Big Red 13-4 in the game's first eight minutes. Avery heated up offensively in the second period, but Heritage remained hot, using a 17-point period to maintain a 30-20 halftime advantage.
The clubs played virtually even throughout the second half, preventing AHS from a scoring run to dig out of the early hole dug for itself as Heritage emerged victorious by a 54-45 final score.
Tennant led Avery with 14 points, with 13 points from Clarke. AHS leading scorer Burleson scored six points, eight points below her season average. Brianna Woody was a force inside, leading Heritage with 21 points, with eight points from Maria Kardulis and six points each from Samm Chandler, Nyssa Freeman and Kaylon Johnson.
AHS hosted Mitchell earlier this week for Senior Night and will begin WHC tournament play next week at Polk County High School.
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