In football-esque style, I thought it might be of interest to preview Wednesday's Regional Semifinal contest. Hopefully these notes will be informative and insightful.
On Wednesday night Avery (23-7) travels to Winston-Salem to take on the Chatham Central Lady Bears (26-2). The game marks Avery's first trip to the 1A Girls Western Regional, while Chatham Central has been regional champions on three occasions (1986, 1999, and 2000). Avery defeated Swain and Hiwassee Dam in Sectional Semis and Final contests to reach Regionals, while Chatham defeated East Surry and River Mill to earn a berth to Wednesday's showdown.
Scouting the Lady Bears:
The Chatham Central Lady Bears are members of the Yadkin Valley 1A Conference and are located at Bear Creek, just southeast of Siler City. The team is coached by Gerald Binkley and team colors are red and white. The team finished as co-champions in the YVC and are paced by a trio of players in Becca Bolton (17.1 ppg, 9.4 rpg, 5.5 apg), Sienna Courie (11.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg), and Sapna Varkey (10.3 ppg, 4.2 apg).
Chatham Central will use a mixture of defenses, but the coach explained at Monday's press luncheon that the team has relied greatly upon a zone defense the past 3-4 years.
The Low Down:
Avery's task will not be a simple one in upending the Lady Bears on Wednesday, but this team would not have it any other way. The Lady Vikings are well coached and boast five players that average over 8 points per contest, with Kimberley Gragg averaging double figures in both scoring and rebounding.
For Avery to win Wednesday, they must play sharply for much of the contest. The team missed a number of easy shots (admittedly due to nerves) to open the Hiwassee Dam contest, a feat which they will need to avoid repeating against the Lady Bears.
Chatham Central has faced pressure defenses from Thomasville, a conference foe which they played three times this season. However, the Lady Bears will likely not have faced a team with the depth, team speed, and defensive discipline that this year's Avery team possesses. Avery's defense MUST generate turnovers and easy scoring opportunities to earn a spot in Saturday's regional final. Expect senior leaders Gragg, Laura Lacey, and Joy Jennings to each continue playing key roles as they have throughout this year's playoff run.
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.
A full recap and details of Wednesday's Regional Semifinal will be posted shortly following Wednesday night's contest.
