Samantha Shook netted 17 points and Katie Ellis registered another double-double as four Avery players reached double figures in the Lady Vikings' dispatching of the visiting Elkin Lady Elks by an 82-40 final score at Viking Gym Tuesday night.Avery opened the game with a 19-2 flurry in the game's opening 4:22 and never looked back. Shook, who left Friday night's Western Highlands Conference title game after a hard foul caused her head to collide with the hardwood, started Tuesday's game and showed no ill effects, netting ten of her game-high 17 points in the first period, including a pair of three-point buckets.
Junior Sara Wiseman chipped in off the bench with five baskets for ten points in the opening quarter as Avery took a 29-12 lead after one quarter of play. Elkin settled down and played a physical brand of defense in the second quarter of play. Junior Jordan Eldridge scored 12 first-half points to pace the Lady Elks, while the Elkin defense held the Lady Vikings scoreless over the first 3:45 of the second period.
Eldridge and teammates Kali Brooks and Alli Newman were the only Elks players to score in the entire first half, while fellow Elks Sydney Carter and Shanlyn Wagoner found the going tough defending the frontcourt foces of Avery's three-headed monster of Katie Ellis, Katelynn Eudy, and Sara Wiseman. Carter and Wagoner each picked up three fouls in the first half, hampering their playing time and effectiveness for much of the game.The Lady Vikings held Elkin to only six points in the period as Avery teammates Elyse Perry, Lauren Avery, and Allison Vance combined for eight of the Big Red's ten points in the second quarter. Avery held a 39-18 lead at halftime.
As the second half began, the Avery backcourt took command. Allison Vance found open lanes to penetrate through the paint to the hoop for six points in the quarter, while fellow guard Shook again caught fire for seven points in the period.
Elkin countered with the play of 5'11" senior Alli Newman, who tallied six of her ten points for the game during the quarter. Kali Brooks also netted six in the stanza, but the Lady Elks still found themselves trailing by a 57-32 margin going into the final eight minutes of play.
The Lady Vikings closed out the game by outscoring Elkin 25-8 in the final quarter. Ellis scored seven of her 12 points for the game in the final period. The senior standout spent much of the contest at the free throw line from drawing fouls on Elkin defenders. Ellis shot 16 free throws in the game, converting on eight of them. The only true area of vulnerability displayed by the Lady Vikings in the entire evening was their efficiency at the charity stripe, where the club was 20 for 37 as a team. Elkin shot only seven free throws in the contest, making two.
Avery was paced by Shook's 17 points and three assists, with 13 from Wiseman, 12 points and 18 rebounds from Ellis, and 10 points and six assists from Vance. Eldridge led Elkin with 12 points and three rebounds. Kali Brooks scored ten points with five rebounds, three steals, and two blocks. Alli Newman added ten points and ten rebounds.
The Lady Vikings will host Highland Tech (6-20) in the second round on Thursday evening with a 7 p.m. tip time. The Lady Rams upset a 20-win Rosman Lady Tigers squad 70-69 in Gastonia on Tuesday evening. If Avery is victorious in Thursday's sectional semifinal, they would host the sectional final on Friday evening at 7 p.m. against the winner of Thursday's other semifinal between Highlands and Robbinsville.
Box:
Elkin 6 12 14 8 - 40
Avery 29 10 18 25 - 82
Avery 82 - L. Avery-7, Singleton 6, Perry 6, Vance 10, Shook 17, Ellis 12, Bentley 1, Tennant 4, Eudy 6, Wiseman 13
Elkin 40 - Eldridge 12, Brooks 10, Newman 10, Stike 2, Spagnoletti 2, Snow 2, Booker 2
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Other first round girls playoff scores (posted as we get them):
Girls West 1A:
Bishop McGuinnes 76, East Montgomery 42
North Moore 55, NCSSM 24
East Surry 61, Union Academy 21
River Mill Academy 65, Chatham Central 55
Alleghany 41, Raleigh Charter 38
Polk County 45, Swain 38
Hiwassee Dam 56, Murphy 44
Cherokee 55, Nantahala 40
Cherryville 72, Gray Stone 68
Highlands 65, Hendersonville 55
Robbinsville 63, Hayesville 28
Girls West 2A:
Mitchell 54, Maiden 53
Pisgah 54, Owen 34
Ashe County 67, West Davidson 27
Newton-Conover 39, Mountain Heritage 23
