The Avery Lady Vikings entered last week’s Western Highlands Conference Tournament as the second seed, and dominated early and often in blitzing the Hendersonville Lady Bearcats by a final score of 79-41 in their first round contest last Monday evening.Through the first quarter the Lady Vikings worked to seize momentum. Katelynn Eudy scored six points in the opening eight minutes to pace Avery to a 16-6 lead by period's end. Avery outscored Hendersonville 18-7 over the opening five minutes of the second quarter to build a 34-13 lead.
By halftime a trio of Lady Vikings: Eudy, Katie Ellis, and Samantha Shook, had all reached double-figures scoring in assuming a commanding 43-19 halftime lead. Brooks Walz led the Lady Bearcats with 12 first half points.
Avery continued its scoring barrage with 16 points in the third quarter. Six different Lady Vikings scored in the quarter as the Big Red led 59-32 at the end of three stanzas and closed the tournament win in style with a 20-9 scoring run in the final eight minutes. Avery had seven players score in the final quarter and every player had scored by game's end.
Ellis finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, and five steals. Samantha Shook scored 13, with ten from Katelynn Eudy. Allison Vance had a terrific all-around night with eight points, six rebounds, three steals, and nine assists. Lauren Avery also netted six for the victorious Lady Vikings. Walz finished with 19 points for Hendersonville.
On Thursday the Lady Vikings expected a tough test from the #3 seed Polk County Lady Wolverines. In an unexpected turn of events, however, the Lady Vikings turned the game into a laugher, outplaying Polk in every facet of the game in a surprising 87-60 final score.
Avery took an early lead with a 10-2 run and led 21-8 after one quarter. The Lady Wolverines showed some bite in the second period, rallying to narrow the lead to 23-16 at the 5:40 mark of the second period. Following an Avery timeout, however, the Lady Vikings unleashed an offensive onslaught while using its press defense to disable the Polk squad.
A 21-8 run to close the first half left the Big Red leading 44-24. Polk leading scorer Kiki Miller was held scoreless in the first half as she was saddled with three first-half fouls. Miller was conspicuously absent from the Polk lineup for the entire second half as well.
The Lady Vikings scored 20 of more points in all four quarters en route to a season-high in scoring.
The Polk County defense had no answer for the frontcourt of the Lady Vikings. Katie Ellis finished the game with 19 points and 14 rebounds, with 17 points and nine rebounds from Katelynn Eudy, and 14 points from Sara Wiseman. Point guard Allison Vance added 12 points with eight from Samantha Shook in the decisive win.
The Mitchell Lady Mountaineers struggled but managed to get by with a 40-31 win over Mountain Heritage in the second semifinal at Viking Gym on Thursday, setting up a Friday showdown between the conference’s top two teams.
An electric atmosphere permeated the standing-room-only crowd that filled Viking Gym Friday night in anticipation of the championship contest, and the game more than lived up to its pre-game hype.
Avery made four of its first five shots as Samantha Shook drained an early three-pointer and Katelynn Eudy hit her first three shots to spark the Avery offense. Mitchell countered with strong play inside from forward Autumn Thompson, who scored seven first-quarter points to help tie the game at 16 after eight minutes.
Despite Avery shooting over 54 percent from the field in the first half to Mitchell’s 33 percent, the Lady Mountaineers took advantage of offensive rebounding and extra opportunities at the free throw line to keep the game close. The teams were knotted at 32 at halftime, with nine ties and six lead changes through the first two stanzas.
Midway through the third quarter Shook netted a second 3-point basket to push Avery to a 41-36 lead. Indicative of the heart of a champion, Mitchell responded with a pair of baseline baskets from Whitney Jones and a jumper from Samantha Smith to retake the lead at 44-43. The teams ended the quarter tied for the third straight time, knotted at 46 points apiece.
Both teams dug deep within themselves to find the stamina and will to win. The Big Red scored six of the first seven points in the final stanza to tie its largest lead at 52-47 with 5:57 remaining. A Smith jumper, plus a Laken Norris basket tied the game again at 52-52. An Eudy field goal was followed a short time later by an Allison Vance steal and Lauren Avery layup for a 56-52 Avery advantage at the 4:00 mark.
The Lady Mountaineers continued to show resilience in the face of adversity. A free throw and a Smith basket drew Mitchell back to within a point at 56-55, and the Mountaineers experienced further good fortune when Avery’s Eudy was whistled for her fifth foul with 2:35 left and the Lady Vikings leading 57-55, and fellow starter Samantha Shook was forced out of the game due to injury a short time later on an offensive foul from Mitchell’s Whitney Jones.Mitchell capitalized on its opportunities down the stretch as Laken Norris scored on a short jumper to tie the game at 57. A pair of Katie Ellis free throws put Avery back on top 59-57 with two minutes to play, but a free throw each from Norris and Thompson over the next 40 seconds forced another tie score at 59-59 and set the stage for a dramatic finish.
Avery’s Vance was fouled by Norris with 1:00 left on the fourth quarter clock and sent to the free throw line. Faced with a one-and-one, the conference’s leading free throw shooter’s first shot was too strong. Mitchell rebounded the miss and held the basketball for one final shot. With the seconds ticking away, Norris, the league’s leading scorer at over 23 points a contest, passed out of a double-team to teammate Samantha Smith, who swished a 17-foot jump shot for the game-winning basket and 61-59 Lady Mountaineer win.
Four Lady Vikings scored in double-figures in the heartbreaking loss. Allison Vance led the Big Red with 14 points, four assists, three rebounds, and three steals. Katie Ellis added ten points and 12 rebounds, with ten points each from Lauren Avery and Katelynn Eudy. Laken Norris led Mitchell with 17 points on 7 for 21 shooting. Autumn Thompson added 13, with 12 from Samantha Smith.
Avery finished the conference season with a 17-10 overall record. The Lady Vikings qualified for the state 1A basketball tournament and hosts the wild card Elkin Lady Elks TONIGHT at 7 p.m. in Viking Gym.
