Avery ventured back into regular season play on Friday night with a rematch in Rutherford County against Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy. The game was all-Lady Vikings from the opening tip as Avery routed the Lady Gryphons 78-30.Over the first eight minutes Avery blitzed the Lady Gryphons with its full-court offense and pressing defense. Allison Vance picked up where she left off from the Christmas tournament by scoring nine first-quarter points, while teammate Katelynn Eudy scored seven points. Avery scored 26 points in the opening stanza and held TJCA to a single field goal and three foul shots to take a 21-point lead after one quarter.
The Avery defense again held TJCA to a lone field goal made in the second stanza, but surrendered four made free throws before halftime. In the meantime, the Big Red offense scorched the nets for 19 points, eight of which came from returning guard Hayley Pyatte, to stake the Lady Vikings to a 45-11 halftime lead.
Avery’s second half was every bit as impressive as the first, as the team allowed only six points to TJCA in the third quarter while scoring 17 points in the frame to lead 62-17 and eventually cruised to the team’s seventh win of the season.
Vance scored 17 points to lead five Lady Vikings in double-figures. Samantha Shook scored 12, with 11 each from Katie Ellis and Katelynn Eudy and ten from Hayley Pyatte.
Avery dominated most every statistical category as the squad hauled in a startling 51 rebounds as a team and had 31 steals in the win.
Following last week's Christmas tournament in Cherryville, Avery head basketball coach Bo Manis told his team that they needed to control the flow of the game and that running the offense would create scoring opportunities.On Friday evening those opportunities came in bunches as the Avery squad appeared to put many of the coach’s principles into practice in a 76-29 throttling of Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy in Mooresboro.
Avery opened the game by scoring the first 14 points before Thomas Jefferson finally got on the scoreboard. Avery then closed out the quarter with a 10-2 run to lead 24-4 after the first quarter.
The Gryphons played a better game in the second period as Avery used a number of its reserves for significant minutes. A 7-2 TJCA run cut the lead to 15 points, but Avery’s balanced scoring attack late in the half built its advantage back to 43-20 at halftime.
Avery removed all doubt on who would be victorious with a 13-0 run to open the third period, giving the Big Red a 56-20 cushion. The defense was stifling as the Vikings held TJCA scoreless for over seven minutes. A basket by TJCA’s Jonathan Bess with 40 seconds remaining in the quarter finally snapped the drought, but it was the only scoring for the Gryphons as Avery led 61-22 after three stanzas.
A number of reserves saw action in the final eight minutes for both teams, but the Avery offense continued to roll. Keith McKinney scored all eight points of his points off the bench in the quarter as the Vikings earned its second win of the year and a season sweep over its future Western Highlands Conference foe.
Joey Potter paced the Vikings with 13 points, with 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and a pair of steals from Dustin Clarke. Kody Hughes added nine points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals, while Luke Pittman added eight points, seven rebounds and three assists. Colton Blackburn added seven points, seven rebounds, and five steals.
An already busy schedule remains packed this week for the Lady Vikings. Avery hosts Hendersonville early in the week, followed by a non-conference game Wednesday in Jefferson against Ashe County and another 1A conference showdown at Polk County this Friday.
