Avery Journal-Times LIVE from... the Girls 1A State Basketball Championship

We're live and Courtside from the Smith Center in Chapel Hill for the 1A girls basketball championship betweeen Pender High School and Bishop McGuinness. We'll be keeping a running tally throughout this afternoon's contest.

12:05 pm - Tip-off. Bishop holds an 8-2 lead early in the first quarter. The Villains are the West Regional champs and are two-time defending state champs.

12:08 pm - Pender scores the last two buckets and trails 8-6 midway through the opening period.

12:15 pm - Pender went on an 8-0 run to tie the game at 10 apiece, doing a good job crashing the boards, especially on the offensive end. Bishop's height, particularly Erin Thompson in the middle for the Villains, started making its presence felt late in the quarter. Great fan contingent for both schools, but Pender looks to have a few more fans. End first period... 16-14 Bishop McGuinness.

12:25 pm - Bishop opens the quarter on a 8-2 run to take a 24-16 lead with just under 5:00 left in the half. On a side note, members of both the UNC and Duke women's coaching staff are sitting about five feet behind me on press row carrying on an entertaining conversation.

12:30 pm - Bishop leads 27-17 with 2:26 left in the half. Using its height and press, Bishop has forced a number of Pender turnovers. Bishop has also gotten to the foul line on several occasions in the period

12:35 pm - at halftime its 30-22 Bishop McGuinness, as the teams traded 3's to end the half. On a side note, much thanks to John Rendleman formerly of MTN-TV and now of WWAY-TV in Wilmington for hooking a fella up with a seat on press row to blog from as the NCHSAA neglected to reserve a spot as they'd earlier promised.

HALFTIME STATS

SCORE BISHOP 30 PENDER 22

POINTS BISHOP: RONAN 12 PTs PENDER ROBINSON 12 REBOUNDS

BISHOP: THOMPSON 8

PENDER: SEABROOKS 6 BLAND 6

FG% BISHOP 34.5% PENDER 27.3%

TURNOVERS: BISHOP 6 PENDER 7

12:55 pm - Pender has come out on a run to open the third period, cutting the lead to 33-29 with 4 min. left in the third. Of note, Whitney Knight of Bishop has had at least 4 blocked shots in the game. She is a 6'1" freshman who runs the point and, if Avery folks watched their earlier game with Robbinsville, is very quick and lanky for her size.

12:58 pm - 34-31 Bishop leads by 3 and takes a timeout with 3:01 remaining in the third. Pender has taken momentum in the game and has made every shot difficult for the Villains in the quarter thus far.

1:05 pm -- Bishop gets a break on a call on a loose basketball when a foul is called on Pender. Patriots head coach Gary Battle gets a technical when he slaps the scorers table at disgust over the call. Bishop hits two free throws just prior to the end of the quarter. End 3rd quarter: Bishop 38, Pender 33. Of note: the three officials calling this title game are from WESTERN North Carolina's officiating association, all three of which Avery teams have seen this season.

1:15 pm - 5:41 remaining in the contest. Bishop leads 41-35. The intensity and physicality has picked up here in the final period and it's still anyone's game. Both teams are in a bit of foul trouble as Thompson has 3 fouls and Rembielak has 4 for Bishop, while Seabrooks has 4 for the Lady Patriots.

1:25 pm - Bishop on a 6-0 run has taken a double-digit lead at 47-35 lead with 3:42 to go, earning points at the charity stripe. Pender hs gone cold shooting in the quarter, but have gotten plenty of opportunities to score.

1:32 pm - Pender cuts the lead to 49-41 with a minute left to go. Pender is fouling to try to extend the ballgame.

1:40 pm - Bishop lead by 9 with 30 seconds left, and it appears they will win their third straight 1A state girls title.

1:50 pm - Bishop wins it 56-43. Maggie Ronan led the Lady Villains with 16 points. Erinn Thompson was named MVP after adding 14 points and 19 rebounds. For Pender, Janetta Robinson scored 18 points. Muriel Seabrooks grabbed 18 rebounds. Sequoya Bland scored 10 rebounds and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Avery Middle Takes First Round of Spring Sports Bragging Rights

Avery Middle School and Cranberry Middle School squared off on the diamond for baseball and softball matchups, with the Avery Panthers coming out on top in both contests.

In the softball matchup in Newland, the Lady Panthers pitching staff held the Lady Wildcats bats at bay en route to a win, while starting pitcher AJ Masters went the seven-inning distance in Cranberry, striking out nine hitters while giving up only three runs in a 13-3 victory.

"A.J. throws the ball really well. He has spots where most pitchers might falter, but he bounces back to throw strike after strike. I believe he is one of the league's best," Avery Panthers manager Donnie Johnson said after the win. "We were conservative on the bases on Monday, but I noticed we were more aggressive with our leads. We sent more guys home from third with the ball just getting into the infielders' hands, and the guys did a good job watching the ball come in and getting across. Our kids really gave all they had out there tonight."

Dustin Clark smacked a deep home run over the center field fence as part of a three-run second inning to give Avery the lead for good at 3-2.

Landon Powell pitched five innings for the Wildcats and threw well, giving up very few earned runs in the loss. "Landon pitched pretty well. I believe we just struggled fielding the ball tonight, not knowing where to go with the ball and making some errors and bad throws," Cranberry manager Kent Hayes remarked following the contest.

"Avery Middle put the ball in play, and we didn't do quite as good a job putting the ball in play."

On Monday the Panthers lost a pair of games to East Yancey by scores of 7-0 and 17-9, while Cranberry fell in two contests to Bowman by scores of 7-3 and 9-3 the same evening.

Avery Middle baseball hosts Bowman and Harris next week, while Cranberry travels to Cane River and East Yancey for conference contests.

Lady Vikings Hand Loss to West Wilkes to Remain Perfect

Avery improved its unblemished record to 4-0 on Wednesday evening with a 3-1 victory over the #9 ranked West Wilkes Lady Blackhawks in Millers Creek.

Avery scored each of its goals in the first half of play. The first tally of the evening came on a goal from Katie Peters in the 12th minute coming off an Elyse Perry assist. A second goal came five minutes later courtesy of Mary Chesnut Smith with help from Emily Banner and Melinda Eggers. Following a change in net for West, Peters netted a second goal at the 27-minute mark off an Emily Banner assist, giving Avery a commanding 3-0 halftime lead.

In the second half the Lady Vikings were not able to connect again offensively, but Avery keeper Cailan Calloway had several saves in net. West managed a penalty kick opportunity when a handball was called in the box, but the shot hit the crossbar and rebounded, eventually being cleared by the Big Red.

The Lady Vikings were able to see the entire roster garner minutes on the pitch, particularly in the second half. West scored its only goal of the night at the 70 minute mark to account for the 3-1 final. The match was a physical contest as one Avery player received a yellow card following inadvertent contact with a West player going for a ball, while in a separate incident a Lady Hawks keeper was injured and received medical care.

"Our offense looked really good tonight," Lady Vikings head coach Tom Evaul said after the win. "Our defense was a little off, giving us some scares including the missed PK."

With the win Avery will likely improve on its current #15 ranking. The Lady Vikings travel to Watauga for a match against the neighboring Lady Pioneers on Saturday.

Gragg to Participate in Blue/White All-Star Game

Avery Lady Vikings basketball senior forward Kimberley Gragg has been selected to play in the annual Blue/White Classic. Gragg averaged 12 points and and 9 rebounds a contest this season in helping to lead the Lady Vikings to its first 1A Western Regional in program history.

Gragg is the fourth Lady Viking player to participate in the game over the past three seasons. Former Avery standout Charity Austin was MVP of the 2006 contest, while teammates Kimberly Pitman and Brittney Burleson played in last year's game.

The games are set for Thursday, March 20 at T.C. Roberson High in Skyland. The girls' game tips off at 7 p.m. and will be followed by the boys' game at 9. Below are the full rosters for all four teams for the two contests:

Boys Blue: Chris Vanlandingham (North Henderson), D.J. Clement (Reynolds), Petey Hausley (McDowell), Terrance Kincaid (McDowell), Cole Huskins (Mountain Heritage), Josh Twitty (Polk County), Ian McVay (Owen), Josh Harris (Chase), Brandon Young (R-S Central), Patrick Crouch (Roberson), coach Ken Hines (Chase).

White: Ben Williams (Enka), Jon Brown (Smoky Mountain), C.J. Fortner (Smoky Mountain), Koty Drake (Franklin), Dominique Whiteside (Hendersonville), Caleb Hedden (Erwin), Travis Garrison (Robbinsville), Austin Moore (Pisgah), Zach Hollifield (Pisgah), Jarrod Conard (Pisgah), coach Brian Carver (Enka).

Girls Blue: Kelsea Greene (McDowell), Kurie Washington (McDowell), Morgan McMinn (North Henderson), Stephanie Chapman (Roberson), Gentry Manley (Roberson), Ebonique Hamilton (McDowell), Kim Gragg (Avery County), Samantha Blevins (Mitchell), Latwyella Maxwell (East Rutherford), Areyshea Dunbar (Roberson), coach Larry Ross (East Rutherford).

White: Brandy Deddo (Robbinsville), Emily Raper (Hiwassee Dam), Kristen Cook (Swain County), Rachel Olivo (Enka), Shermia Forney (Asheville), Jena Cabe (Franklin), Evan Moffitt (Franklin), Stephanie Nichols (Blue Ridge), Cayla Cucumber (Smoky Mountain), Brittney Clark (Pisgah), coach Jay Brooks (Franklin).

Tough Night on Diamond for Vikings; Soccer Time Change

The Avery baseball and softball teams played their respective conference openers yesterday evening at Owen High School.

In softball, the Lady Vikings held the talented Owen club scoreless through two innings before the Warlassie bats woke up with a pair of runs in the third and a four-spot in the fourth on the way to a 12-0 victory.

Owen pitcher Allie Brandon struck out nine Vikings and allowed only one hit to give the Warlassies the victory.
Brandon is 3-0 on the year for Owen. Morgan Yackey started the contest for the Big Red on the mound and also pitched in at the plate with a triple.

In baseball, the Avery junior varsity team, in what amounted to basically its second practice of the season which happened to be a regular-season game, was defeated 11-0. Jared Clark and Daniel Huff took the mound in the contest and Avery was able to see live pitching at the plate and get field work that has been scarce through a wet and white winter.

In the varsity contest, Avery's conference opener was an improvement from its 15-0 whitewash against Wilkes Central a week earlier, losing only by a 7-1 final score. Catcher Zac Hall had a single and a double at the plate for two of Avery's four hits in the contest, and scored Avery's lone run on an Owen wild pitch in the top of the fifth. Senior Seth Phillips pitched five innings on the mound, with Chris Childress pitching one inning of relief.

Owen used a four-run fourth inning to put away the game. Warhorse hurler Lewis Fraser (2-1) struck out 12 Vikings and went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Michael Harvin drove in a pair of Owen runs.

Avery had five different runners on base through three innings, but squandered the opportunities as none of the runners crossed the plate. Defense was much improved from the opening contest, as Avery was able to wriggle out of trouble in multiple innings with solid infield play. The Vikings will travel to Hampton on Friday for a non-conference contest against the Bulldogs.

The Avery track and field team was also in action on Tuesday at Owen High School. A number of athletes took part in various running, jumping, and throwing events, and the team will be traveling across the region all spring long in preparation for the season-ending conference, regional, and state meets.

NOTE: The Avery girls soccer team's game this afternoon against #9 ranked West Wilkes WILL BEGIN AT 5:30 p.m., rather than the original 6 pm start time. Avery will be looking to improve to 4-0 with a victory in Miller's Creek.

Lady Vikings Remain Perfect with 1-0 Shutout at Owen

Avery maintained its undefeated record at 3-0 on the young season in winning its conference opener on Monday night against Owen by a 1-0 final score.

The teams played to a scoreless first half, and the contest appeared headed to overtime. But senior Katie Peters picked up the lone goal of the match on a picture-perfect crossing blast from 15 yards out with five minutes remaining.

"We controlled the whole ballgame. They may have had only 2 or 3 shots on goal. We told the team at halftime that the way Owen would beat us would be if we made mistakes, and that we needed to make sure to not make mistakes, and that we would beat them by attacking the goal as we had done throughout the first half," Avery coach Tom Evaul said after the win. "We got the one goal we needed from Katie, who often seems to turn and shoot a ball that goes about anywhere but where she wants it to go. When she turned to shoot I thought it might go over toward the activity bus or somewhere, but she must have turned herself just perfectly as she shot a beautiful shot into the goal. It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of shot, but we're thrilled with the goal and for the win."

Avery's young squad continues to show great talent and chemistry should do nothing but continue to improve as the season goes on.

"The young girls have stepped up and that has made our experienced players feel comfortable with what we have on the field and confident with them," the coach added. "We didn't have this chemistry last year or the year before. We're adding a couple of more players Tuesday which should really help us offensively, and I'm really pleased with how the girls are communicating and enjoying playing the game together."

The win gives the Lady Vikings its second-best start to a season in program history, and the team looks to keep up its winning ways going with two more matches this week, on Wednesday at West Wilkes and on Saturday at Watauga. (NOTE: The scheduled time for the West Wilkes match is currently set at 6 pm, but the time MAY be changed to 5 p.m. We'll try to pass along the correct time for the start of that match as soon as we get confirmation on it).