Avery hosted Polk County on the hardwood Monday night in Viking Gym. For the third consecutive contest, the JV squads pulled off an evening sweep.The JV girls had a difficult time with a tough Lady Wolverines club but prevailed 44-40. Leading scorer Mercedes Bentley was shadowed all night by the Polk defense, but hit three of four free throws in the closing seconds to seal the win.
Emily Pritchard led the Lady Vikings with 12 points on the night, with six points from Savannah Dellinger and five by Logan Johnson. Shayna Vance added four points and seven rebounds, with four points and nine rebounds from Mary Chesnut Smith.
The JV boys team was locked in a tight struggle all evening with the Polk JV boys team. The squads were tied at nine after a sluggish first quarter, with Polk County grabbing a narrow 20-17 lead after three quarters.
Avery battled back to tie the contest at 28 after three quarters, and a go-ahead jumper by Alex Villanueva in the closing seconds gave the Big Red the lead for good as they defeated Polk 46-43. Spencer Blackburn led Avery with 14 points, with eight from Alex Villanueva and six points apiece from Taylor Potter and Timmy Stewart.
The Lady Viking varsity girls team defeated the Lady Wolverines 78-61 on Monday night. The contest was close in much of the first half, but a 25-23 Avery lead changed in a hurry after a 14-2 run closed out the first half with the Big Red leading 39-25. Avery opened the second half continuing that spurt, outscoring Polk 11-3 in the first 2:30 of the third quarter to build a 50-28 advantage that they would never surrender.
Katie Ellis and Allison Vance each scored 18 in the victory, with Ellis adding 18 rebounds and Vance dishing four assists in the win. Samantha Shook added 12 points, three rebounds, and four assists, with 12 points and 8 rebounds from Katelynn Eudy.
In the night cap, the boys varsity team trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half, but staged a rally to narrow the score to 35-31 at halftime and 45-44 after three quarters. A scoring run by the Wolverines to open the fourth quarter put the game out of reach, however, as the Wolverines prevailed by a 74-58 final score.
Kody Hughes led the Vikings with 14 points and 11 rebounds in the loss, with ten points and seven rebounds from Dustin Clarke. Colton Blackburn scored nine points with nine rebounds, while Joey Potter added eight points.
Avery will host Mountain Heritage on Tuesday for Senior Night at Viking Gym. Lady Viking seniors Allison Vance, Samantha Shook, Katie Ellis, and Sara Singleton will be recognized, while varsity boys senior guard Jared Ward will be honored during the evening.
