7:45: Greetings! The Avery Journal-Times is in Winston-Salem to cover the Lady Vikings showdown with Chatham Central. Due to lack of wireless internet at the game site, Jamie will be unable to blog from Winston. However, I will be updating and blogging during this game from Avery County. We have worked out a system where I will be able to blog and will have updated information here as soon as it comes in to me from Jamie. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at averysports@yahoo.com
The Lady Vikings are scheduled to tip off at 8:30pm. The game before pitted Bishop McGuinness and Robbinsville. Bishop is leading at the half 42-18 as they have shot an impressive 51% (19 of 37) from the floor. Robbinsville shot 25% (5 of 20) in the half. Brittany Cox is leading the way for Bishop with 11 pts. while Brandy Deddo has 12 pts. and 10 rebounds for Robbinsville. Check back for more details from this game and the updates on the Avery-Chatham Central Contest!
The contest by the Numbers:
24 - number of points Chatham Central defeated East Surry to reach Wednesday's contest.
25.3 - the average # of points Avery has defeated opponents by in its first three rounds of playoff competition.
30 - rebounds for the combination of Gragg and Ellis in Friday's Sectional final victory.
57- combined point total for triple-threat tandem of Bolton (25), Courie (14) and Varkey (18) in the Lady Bears' Friday night sectional win over East Surry.
79.6 - points per game generated by the Avery offense over the past three contests.
8:02: End of the third quarter Bishop is continuing to control the contest as they lead 58-24 at the end of the third quarter.
8:30: Bishop has taken the victory as they cruised past Robbinsville 69-35. Bishop was led by Erin Thompson's 16 points and Brittany Cox's 13 points. Bishop shot 28 of 55 (50%) while Robbinsville shot 12 of 43 (28%). Robbinsville was led by Brandy Deddo's 12 points and 11 rebounds. UP NEXT: The Lady Vikings take on Chatham Central!
AVERY vs. CHATHAM CENTRAL
9:00: The first quarter is in the books and the Avery Lady Vikings are leading Chatham Central 12-8. They are just now heading into the second quarter and will keep you updated as the game rolls along.
9:20: Chatham Central used a 19-6 run in the second quarter to erase a five point Avery lead, and Chatham Central leads 31-23 at the half. Avery is led by Kim Gragg who has 9 points and 8 rebounds so far. Becca Fulton has 18 of Chatham's 31 points. We will have some offical numbers in a minute from Winston-Salem.
9:25: Some offical stats. Avery shot 8 of 35 (23%) from the floor, while Chatham Central shot 13 of 29 (45%). Joy Jennings is Avery's second leading scorer as she has 7 points. Sapna Varkey has 9 pts. and 5 rebounds for Chatham. A huge stat for the Lady Vikings are Chatham Central has outscored Avery in the paint 14-6. We will keep you updated during the second half.
9:45: Chatham opened the second half on a 14-4 run to lead by as many as 20. Avery's Samantha Shook hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 14 points and the Lady Vikings trail 52-38 going into the fourth quarter.
10:00: Avery trails 60-45 with 4:11 remaining in the fourth quarter.
10:15: The Lady Vikings fell 68-53 in a hard fought battle. We will have offical stats and some more info from Winston-Salem in just a few minutes.
10:30: The Avery Lady Vikings were led by Kim Gragg's 17 points, Joy Jennings 13 points, and Hayley Pyatte's 11 points. They cut the Chatham Central led to 63-53 late in the contest, but Chatham was able to shoot free throws down the stretch. Chatham was led by Becca Bolton's season high 33 points, and Sapne Varkey had 21 points.
10:45: That is a wrap for my blogging tonight. Jamie will have a recap of the game in next week's print paper and also on here later this week. I hope you enjoyed our coverage and hope you keep checking back. -Matt
Congratulations to the Avery Lady Vikings for an excellent season.
