The tournament finals are set for tonight's Western Highlands Conference boys and girls tournament title games.The Lady Vikings overcame early rust and a Hendersonville second half surge to defeat the Lady Bearcats by a 69-51 final score in the first semifinal game Thursday night.
Avery opened the game scoring the first 20 points of the game, holding Hendersonville scoreless in the first quarter to take a 20-0 lead after one period.
Hendersonville finally scored on a free throw in the opening minute of the second quarter, but the Lady Bearcats were held to just 4 of 21 shooting from the field for the entire first half. Avery was on fire, shooting 66 percent from the field in the first quarter and 48 percent for the first half of play.
Avery had eight different players score points in the first half as the Vikings took a 37-13 halftime lead. Megan Tennant paced the Big Red with nine points in the half, with seven points from senior guard Lauren Avery.
In the third quarter, Hendersonville's Brooks Walz tried to single-handedly bring the Lady Bearcats back in the game. Avery managed to score only six points in the third quarter, while Walz herself scored 15 in the period to draw the Lady Bearcats to within 14 points at 49-35 after three quarters.
In the final quarter, the Lady Vikings were efficient from the field, knocking down seven field goals in the period to answer every push made by Hendersonville. The Lady Bearcats continued to ride the hot shooting of Walz, who tallied 33 points in the game and whose three-pointer cut the Avery lead down to 47-38 midway through the fourth quarter.
Avery rallied with two baskets each from Katelynn Eudy and
Lauren Avery, as well as five points in the stanza by Mercedes Bentley. The offense extended the lead back into double-figures as Avery sealed the 18-point win.Lauren Avery led Lady Vikings scorers with 13 points, along with four assists and four rebounds. Three additional players reached double figures for Avery, with 11 points and 7 rebounds from Sara Wiseman and ten points apiece from Mercedes Bentley and Megan Tennant. Elyse Perry chipped in with seven points and eight assists, with eight points, 10 rebounds, and 5 blocks from Katelynn Eudy.
The Lady Vikings will take on Mitchell in the tournament championship this evening at 6:30 p.m. Mitchell easily handled Thomas Jefferson Academy 56-32 at Owen Middle School last night to advance into the tourney final. If Avery defeats Mitchell in today's tournament final, it will force the teams to play a third contest at Avery High School to make up the matchup postponed by inclement weather. That contest would determine the #1 Western Highlands seed for the girls 1A state playoffs which begin next week.
Boys Narrowly Defeated by Mitchell
The third-seeded Mitchell Mountaineers used a strong second quarter to carry a nine-point advantage into the locker room at halftime. Avery's boys, in typical fashion this season, roared back with a strong third quarter to tie the game midway through the third period. Mitchell used a late run at the end of the quarter to take a seven-point lead and held on for a 78-74 win.
Without a pair of starters, the Mountaineers relied on its duo of Thomas Buchanan and Billy Bomar. Buchanan netted eight points in the period, with seven from Bomar.Avery had a balanced scoring attack in the first stanza, as six different players hit field goals in the frame. Both teams made seven field goals in the quarter, with Mitchell holding a narrow 17-15 lead at period's end.
Buchanan continued to be the story of the game for Mitchell. The senior netted 12 of his game-high 38 points in the second quarter. Avery did everything in its power to withstand the Mountaineer spurt. Luke Pittman contributed six points off the bench in the frame, while fellow senior Dylan Eppley tallied eight points in the period and a team-high 12 points for the half. Nevertheless, Mitchell led 43-34 as the teams went to their respective locker rooms.
In the third quarter, Avery's leading scorer Dustin Clarke began to heat up. After scoring only eight points in the first half, Clarke doubled that total in the third quarter. Teammate Kody Hughes drained a pair of three-pointers helping the Vikings overcome the halftime deficit and tie the game back at 47-47 midway through the period.
Mitchell used a 12-4 run to stem the Viking tide, however. The Mountaineers were paced by a key three-point basket from Buchanan, a three-pointer off the bench from John Spencer, and three points from Troy Self to help Mitchell keep a 63-56 lead with eight minutes to play.
Avery opened the fourth quarter with a 7-2 scoring run to cut the Mitchell lead to a pair at 65-63. Mitchell answered with a basket from Self and three free throws from Buchanan as part of a 5-0 run to push the Mountaineer lead back to seven at 70-63 with 3:50 to play in the game.
Again the Vikings rose from the ashes to counter-punch the
Mitchell run. A Clarke three-pointer and a bucket in the paint from Joey Potter keyed a 7-0 spurt to tie the contest at 70-70 with 2:46 to play.The basketball stayed in the hands of Buchanan for much of the remainder of the game for the Mountaineer offense. Buchanan scored 11 of his game-high 38 points in the fourth quarter, proving to be just enough to keep Avery at bay over the final two minutes. Avery managed to cut the Mitchell lead to as little as one point on two separate occasions, but the Mountaineers hit free throws late to cling to the 78-74 win.
Dustin Clarke paced the Vikings with 25 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals. Dylan Eppley netted a double-double with a career-high 21 points with 11 rebounds. Timmy Stewart tallied 10 points for the Big Red, with eight points from Kody Hughes and seven from Joey Potter.
Three players accounted for 70 of Mitchell's 78 total points. Buchanan's season-high 38 points included 7 rebounds in the Mountaineer win, with 15 points and 7 rebounds from Troy Self, and 17 points and 3 rebounds from Billy Bomar.
The Avery boys will determine its playoff fate when the state basketball playoff brackets are released over the weekend.
Here is the lineup for Championship Friday at Owen High School:
4 PM – 2A Girls Championship (#1 seed Owen vs #3 seed Madison)
5:15 PM – 1A Boys Championship (#1 seed Hendersonville vs #3 seed Mitchell)
6:30 PM – 1A Girls Championship (#1 seed Mitchell vs #2 seed Avery)
8 PM – 2A Boys Championship (#1 seed Heritage vs #2 seed Madison)
