On Monday, Nov. 22, Avery Middle School hosted Harris in its lone contest of the week. In an exciting back-and-forth game, the Lady Panthers came up big with a huge 33-31 overtime victory over the Lady Blue Devils.
The Lady Panthers started off very slowly as the Lady Devils took early control of the matchup, outscoring the Avery club 10-2 in the first six-minute period to take a commanding lead.
Avery’s offense clicked in gear in the second stanza as Anna Gragg came alive with five points in the frame. Teammates Destiny Ollis and Jodi Poore added a pair of points each, but Harris continued to score as well, leading 17-11 at halftime.
As the third quarter ensued the Lady Panthers clamped down defensively and continued to chip away at the Harris lead. Avery picked up a pair of baskets from Ollis, with two apiece from Gragg and Raina Wiseman. The Lady Panthers went on a 10-5 scoring run for the period to draw to within a single point of the Lady Blue Devils at 22-21 heading into the final period of regulation.
Over the fourth period, Avery’s defense played strongly, keeping the Harris offense at bay while holding it to only one field goal for the entire quarter. Avery got a boost from inside presence Jodi Poore, who came alive to help the Lady Panthers tie the contest at 30-30 and send the game into overtime.
In the three minutes of overtime, Avery held Harris to only a single point on a free throw and managed only three points itself, but the defensive intensity was the difference as the Lady Panthers held on for the two-point decision.
Two Avery players reached double-figures, paced by 11 points from Poore and 10 from Gragg. Ollis chipped in with six points, with three from Christian Burleson.
In the night cap, the Avery boys team dealt with the Harris boys ballclub. The Panthers took a stranglehold on the momentum of the contest in the first period, utilizing a strong offensive period to take a 15-4 advantage through six minutes. Avery was up big by halftime, as the squad led 33-10 at halftime behind 11 first-half points from Kobe Pittman, eight points from teammate Austin Phillips and seven points from Tre Jackson.
Harris hung tough with Avery in the third quarter, as the Panthers only outscored Harris by a 16-14 margin but still led 49-24. Avery’s bench players saw extensive minutes in the final quarter as the Panthers won by a 60-28 final score.
Pittman led all scorers with 20 points, with 13 from Jackson and 10 from Phillips. Dalton Tennant added eight points, with five from Dylan Bauer and two points apiece from Jacob Waldrop and Jeffery Puckett. Trevan Riddle led the Blue Devils with 14 points.
The Cranberry girls team continued its recent streak of strong play, as the club picked up a 23-17 victory on the road against the Lady Rebels. In the boys contest, the Cane River club picked up a split for the evening as the Rebels defeated the Wildcats by a narrow final margin of 43-38.
Following a matchup out-of-conference with West McDowell before taking the Thanksgiving break, the Wildcats returned to the floor on Monday, Nov. 29, with another road test at Harris.
In girls action, the Lady Blue Devils bounced back from its loss at the hands of Avery, snapping the recent winning ways in conference of the Lady Wildcats by earning a decisive 43-17 win over the Lady Cats. In the second half of the twin bill, the Harris boys made it a clean sweep of the evening by defeating Cranberry by a narrow 31-27 final score.
The county middle school teams head down the home stretch of the regular season with the second of its two scheduled meetings this Thursday, Dec. 2, at Avery High School. Both schools are jockeying for position in the upcoming Toe River Conference Tournament, scheduled for Dec. 8, 9 and 11, at Avery High School.
