Junior Varsity Girls
The Lady Viking junior varsity girls fell in a 58-32 final score to the Cloudland Lady Landers in the opening contest on Tuesday, Nov. 30, at Sonny Smith Gym in Roan Mountain, Tenn.
“The referees really took us out of the game more than anything else,” Avery head coach Pat Daniels said after the game. “Haley Woody was elbowed in the throat and Taylor Hobbs was smacked in the eye which swelled up, and a foul wasn’t called on either play.”
During the early fourth quarter of the matchup, Avery head coach Pat Daniels received a second technical foul while disputing the physicality of the play on the floor and was ejected from the contest. The statistics bear out the coach’s concerns, as Avery shot only eight free throws in the game while the Lady Landers attempted 35.
“I probably got a little hotter than I should have,” Daniels said. “We played hard, but we really couldn’t get anything going.”
Freshman guard Katie Rigdon led the Lady Vikings with seven points, with six points and six rebounds from sophomore Sela Pittman. Haley Woody added four points and six rebounds, with four points and five rebounds by Shannon Smith. Bre Heaton and Taylor Hobbs also pitched in with four points each.
“We rebounded well in the contest, but what killed us was that we had 17 turnovers in the first half and 25 for the game,” Daniels said.
Haley Johnson led Cloudland with 14 points, with 13 from Courtney Wilson.
On Friday, Dec. 3, the Lady Vikings entered the contest without the services of Daniels, who served the first of a two-game suspension for his ejection from the team’s previous game.
Watauga defeated the Lady Vikings in the teams’ first contest of the season in Boone on Tuesday, Nov. 23, winning by a 33-25 final score. In the rematch last week, Watauga escaped Newland with a win over a scrappy Avery club by a 44-33 final score.
Avery took a 12-9 advantage after one period, but WHS battled back to grab a 20-19 halftime edge.
The turning point of the contest was the third period, where the Lady Vikings could muster only three Pittman points in the frame. The Lady Pioneers roared ahead with 12 in the stanza to lead 32-22 and went on for the win.
Avery took better care of the basketball, committing only 10 turnovers for the contest, but generated only six steals as a team in the game.
Pittman, Rigdon and Hobbs scored seven points each, with six points from Heaton. Kristen Burleson pulled down eight rebounds in the contest to lead the club, with four from Pittman and three from Hobbs.
“Sela and Taylor are doing a good job for us as sophomores, along with MacKenzie Thomas. MacKenzie’s not necessarily a high scorer, but she hustles, she steals the ball, and is a good leader. Our other sophomore Kristen and our whole team has been coming along well,” Daniels said.
Though the team’s start has been slower than desired, the coach sees areas where there is room for improvement and believes in the club.
“Thus far this season we’ve had a lot of shots that just haven’t been falling down. I think we have as many shooters as we’ve had in years past and we’re still getting good shots,” Daniels said of the team’s start. “I think the team is still used to playing together and getting used to the high school game. The schools we’ve played have been tough the past two seasons. I think once we get in conference, we’ll be fine.”
Junior Varsity Boys
Avery’s junior varsity boys team played its first game of the 2010 season on Tuesday, Nov. 30, in Roan Mountain, Tenn. against the Cloudland Highlanders.
The Vikings held a narrow 17-16 lead after one period of play, but a late second quarter scoring flurry from the Landers broke open a close game to give Cloudland a 37-24 halftime lead.
On Friday, Dec. 3, the Vikings returned to floor to take on the Watauga Pioneers at Viking Gym and the famed Octagon. The game was the home opener at Avery, as the school played its first high school games on its newly-refurbished playing floor.
Watauga's boys' JV team built a big halftime lead and went on to defeat the Big Red by a 60-42 final score.
The victorious Pioneers was paced by Ben Howser, who led Watauga in scoring with 14 points. Chris Winkler and Dewayne Mackey each added nine points and Allen Koppenhaver scored eight.
Avery held the Pioneers without a three-point basket for the night, but Watauga converted on 18-of-28 free throws to help widen its margin in the game.
Watauga held a 13-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, but outscored Avery 23-11 in the second period to claim a 36-19 lead. Avery rallied in the third quarter to pull within 14 points at 40-26 in the third quarter, but could get no closer as the Pioneers held off the Viking charge for the win.
Avery got nine points each from Bryce Pittman and Chase Buchanan. Luke Wotell added eight for the Vikings, who did not play Watauga during the first scheduled game because several players were brought up to the varsity to fill in while the football players were in the state 1-AA playoffs.
Chance Watson hit two of the Vikings' three-point baskets for the game.
Avery was scheduled to travel to Miller’s Creek on Monday, Dec. 6, to take on West Wilkes, but inclement weather postponed the contests to Wednesday, Dec. 8. Avery will also take on Cloudland High School in Newland on Friday, Dec. 10, in a rematch of last week’s showdowns.
