Senior sendoff
Jamie Shell / (sports@averyjournal.com)
Inconsistency continues to rear its ugly head for Lady Vikings
basketball.
Early last week Avery celebrated Senior Night in its regular season home finale with a 65-42 win against Mitchell, but on the following evening fell 55-52 to an Ashe club it had defeated by more than 30 points at home earlier in the season.
AHS honored five seniors at its Tuesday, Feb. 7, contest against the Lady Mountaineers, as Danielle Byrd, Savannah Dellinger, Monica Estep, Megan Tennant and Shayna Vance were honored between varsity contests and received the starting nod from head coach Missy Lyons.
The Lady Vikings got off to a slow start in similar fashion to its previous meeting with Mitchell in Ledger, a contest the Lady Mountaineers won by 10 points. Tennant and Estep poured in 10 points in the opening period to help the Big Red to a 16-11 advantage after eight minutes.
Mitchell’s offense originated from senior forward Katie Atkins, who scored a game-high 21 points, including 12 of her team’s 23 points in the first half. Avery, meanwhile, received a boost off the bench from sophomore guard Breanna Heaton, who tallied six points in a second period marked by turnovers by both clubs to push the slight Avery lead to 26-23 at intermission.
As the second half transpired, momentum swung in favor of the Lady Vikings, as Tennant scored seven of her team-high 19 points in the third period. The Avery defense held Mitchell to only two field goals in the quarter, as AHS took a 41-33 lead into the final eight minutes.
Avery’s offense, particularly junior guard Kelsie Clarke, put the game away in the fourth quarter. Clarke poured in 11 points in the frame, including a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe, with three field goals from Tennant and a pair of buckets from Heaton. Defense also made a statement, holding Mitchell to only nine points in the period en route to the victory.
Clarke finished the game with 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals, with 12 points and three steals from Heaton and five points from Dellinger. Tennant added nine rebounds in the win.
Avery had to quickly regroup for its contest in Jefferson 24 hours later against Ashe County. The contest remained close through much of the contest, but Ashe converted 7-of-8 free throws late in the final period to hold off a Lady Vikings rally by a 55-52 final score.
Both offenses clicked in the early portion of the game. MacKinsey Johnson scored four field goals for eight points in the period for Ashe, while Avery was paced with a pair of baskets each from Clarke, Vance and Lauren Burleson to take a 15-14 lead after eight minutes.
Avery converted only four field goals in the second quarter, while Ashe’s defense held Lady Vikings leading scorer Tennant to only two points in the first half and six for the game. The Lady Vikings defense forced 14 first-half Ashe turnovers, however, which helped Avery hold a 23-21 lead at halftime.
Ashe senior forward Hannah Shipp came out of the locker room with a hot hand in the third period, almost single-handedly outscoring the Lady Vikings with eight points compared to nine points for the AHS club. A pair of three-pointers from the Lady Huskies gave Ashe the lead for good at 38-32 after three quarters.
Despite the deficit, Avery continued to battle and refused to quit. Heaton, who earned the starting nod at guard, scored four of her nine points for the contest during the final period, while Clarke added six points.
With AHS trailing by four points at 53-49, Estep stepped up to knock down a three-pointer from the left wing with 11 seconds remaining, cutting the Ashe lead to a single point at 53-52. Ashe guard Morgan Hudler hit two free throws on the ensuing possession. Following a timeout, a final three-point attempt by Burleson to tie the game drew iron but did not fall in, giving the Lady Huskies the upset victory.
Burleson paced all scorers with 16 points, in addition to four steals and three assists. Clarke scored 10 points, with three steals and three assists as Avery’s lone players in double figures. Johnson led three Lady Huskies in double-figures with 12 points.
Avery entered this week’s conference tournament with a 17-7 record overall and the tournament’s No. 2 seed. The Lady Vikings played No. 7 Hendersonville on Tuesday, Feb. 14, and with a victory will play in the tournament semifinals at 7 p.m. this Thursday, Feb. 16, against the winner of the Polk County/Madison tournament first round matchup. The girls tournament championship game will take place at 7 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 17, with all varsity games at Polk County High School.
Early last week Avery celebrated Senior Night in its regular season home finale with a 65-42 win against Mitchell, but on the following evening fell 55-52 to an Ashe club it had defeated by more than 30 points at home earlier in the season.
AHS honored five seniors at its Tuesday, Feb. 7, contest against the Lady Mountaineers, as Danielle Byrd, Savannah Dellinger, Monica Estep, Megan Tennant and Shayna Vance were honored between varsity contests and received the starting nod from head coach Missy Lyons.
The Lady Vikings got off to a slow start in similar fashion to its previous meeting with Mitchell in Ledger, a contest the Lady Mountaineers won by 10 points. Tennant and Estep poured in 10 points in the opening period to help the Big Red to a 16-11 advantage after eight minutes.
Mitchell’s offense originated from senior forward Katie Atkins, who scored a game-high 21 points, including 12 of her team’s 23 points in the first half. Avery, meanwhile, received a boost off the bench from sophomore guard Breanna Heaton, who tallied six points in a second period marked by turnovers by both clubs to push the slight Avery lead to 26-23 at intermission.
As the second half transpired, momentum swung in favor of the Lady Vikings, as Tennant scored seven of her team-high 19 points in the third period. The Avery defense held Mitchell to only two field goals in the quarter, as AHS took a 41-33 lead into the final eight minutes.
Avery’s offense, particularly junior guard Kelsie Clarke, put the game away in the fourth quarter. Clarke poured in 11 points in the frame, including a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe, with three field goals from Tennant and a pair of buckets from Heaton. Defense also made a statement, holding Mitchell to only nine points in the period en route to the victory.
Clarke finished the game with 17 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals, with 12 points and three steals from Heaton and five points from Dellinger. Tennant added nine rebounds in the win.
Avery had to quickly regroup for its contest in Jefferson 24 hours later against Ashe County. The contest remained close through much of the contest, but Ashe converted 7-of-8 free throws late in the final period to hold off a Lady Vikings rally by a 55-52 final score.
Both offenses clicked in the early portion of the game. MacKinsey Johnson scored four field goals for eight points in the period for Ashe, while Avery was paced with a pair of baskets each from Clarke, Vance and Lauren Burleson to take a 15-14 lead after eight minutes.
Avery converted only four field goals in the second quarter, while Ashe’s defense held Lady Vikings leading scorer Tennant to only two points in the first half and six for the game. The Lady Vikings defense forced 14 first-half Ashe turnovers, however, which helped Avery hold a 23-21 lead at halftime.
Ashe senior forward Hannah Shipp came out of the locker room with a hot hand in the third period, almost single-handedly outscoring the Lady Vikings with eight points compared to nine points for the AHS club. A pair of three-pointers from the Lady Huskies gave Ashe the lead for good at 38-32 after three quarters.
Despite the deficit, Avery continued to battle and refused to quit. Heaton, who earned the starting nod at guard, scored four of her nine points for the contest during the final period, while Clarke added six points.
With AHS trailing by four points at 53-49, Estep stepped up to knock down a three-pointer from the left wing with 11 seconds remaining, cutting the Ashe lead to a single point at 53-52. Ashe guard Morgan Hudler hit two free throws on the ensuing possession. Following a timeout, a final three-point attempt by Burleson to tie the game drew iron but did not fall in, giving the Lady Huskies the upset victory.
Burleson paced all scorers with 16 points, in addition to four steals and three assists. Clarke scored 10 points, with three steals and three assists as Avery’s lone players in double figures. Johnson led three Lady Huskies in double-figures with 12 points.
Avery entered this week’s conference tournament with a 17-7 record overall and the tournament’s No. 2 seed. The Lady Vikings played No. 7 Hendersonville on Tuesday, Feb. 14, and with a victory will play in the tournament semifinals at 7 p.m. this Thursday, Feb. 16, against the winner of the Polk County/Madison tournament first round matchup. The girls tournament championship game will take place at 7 p.m. this Friday, Feb. 17, with all varsity games at Polk County High School.