JV Girls Lose First Regular Season Game in More Than Five Years against Lady Mountaineers
Not since Feb. 7, 2006, has the Avery Lady Vikings junior varsity girls basketball team tasted defeat in a Western Highlands Conference regular season game. The Lady Mountaineers from Mitchell snapped the streak in its matchup by the final score of 45-37 as both teams prepare for the season-ending conference tournament this week.
AHS fell behind 9-6 after one quarter and trailed 28-20 at halftime. The freshman guard duo of Katie Ridgon and Bre Heaton accounted for 15 of AHS’s 20 first-half points.
As the second half ensued, the Lady Vikings found itself in a physical game with a number of players in foul trouble. By game’s end a pair of starters fouled out as the team worked to stage a comeback.
The Lady Mountaineers relied on the duo of Burleson and Phillips to supply scoring punch, as the duo accounted for 30 of Mitchell’s 45 total points.
AHS outscored Mitchell in the third period, but only by a 9-8 margin as the Big Red found itself trailing 36-29 entering the final seven minutes of play.
In the final frame the Lady Mountaineers built its lead to double figures, but the Lady Vikings managed to cut the deficit to as little as six points. Mitchell was not to be denied, however, holding the potent Lady Vikings club to only 37 points for the game.
Heaton paced AHS with 10 points and three steals, with nine points from Rigdon and six points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks from Haley Woody.
It was a heartbreaking defeat for the Lady Vikings, who suffered its first setback since a loss late in the 2005-2006 season to the Lady Cougars of Mountain Heritage.
“It seems like every time we have a game on a day that we don’t have school, the girls play a little more lackadaisical, but we never got it together today,” Lady Vikings head coach Pat Daniels said after the rare defeat. “We were dysfunctional from the start, and even though they played hard we didn’t get any breaks. Not blaming anything on the officials, but it might have been a little closer if we’d had decent referees who knew what they were doing out there. But credit Mitchell, they kept the ball in the hands of their two guards. They played really hard tonight and we just didn’t play up to our capabilities.”
Despite the loss, the Lady Vikings planned to use the loss as motivation to work hard last week in practice and prepare itself for the Western Highlands Conference JV tournament played this week at Madison Middle School.
“These girls are really disappointed tonight and every one of them were crying and upset, but I told them losing is part of the game and that we have play hard through the good and the bad. I told the girls we had a bad night but that it was a good team effort. We did some things out of character for us, and I love every one of them and wouldn’t blame them for a thing,” Daniels said. “Mitchell played hard throughout and our girls never gave up from start to finish. They were pumped and ready for us tonight, but Amber Young is my favorite coach in the conference as far as being friendly and personable. I consider her a real friend as a coach and if I had to lose, I couldn’t think of a better coach to lose to than her.”
JV Boys Picks Up Road Win, Tournament Momentum
Coming off a tough one-point loss at home against Mountain Heritage the previous week, the AHS JV boys team bounced back up off the canvas and delivered a knockout punch to the rival Mountaineers with a 52-37 comeback win.
AHS trailed 11-6 after one quarter of action, as Lane Smith scored a pair of baskets, only to be countered by Dylan Forbes, who paced the Mountaineers with three baskets in the frame.
As the second half began AHS matched the intensity and effort of its opponent. In doing so, the Vikings extended its lead to 35-27 going into the final quarter.
Down the stretch of the final seven minutes, the Vikings needed to sink free throws to maintain its lead and maintain the advantage. AHS responded with connecting on 9-of-14 shots from the charity stripe, while a pair of baskets from Pittman and hoops from Smith and Luke Wotell sealed the 15-point triumph.
Pittman led the Big Red with one of his better scoring performances of the season, ringing up a team-high 13 points. Smith was the only other AHS player in double-figures scoring 12 points. Wotell scored seven in the win, with five apiece from Childress and Ty Polsgrove.
AHS took an extended break as it completed the regular season. Tournament play began on Monday, Feb. 14, and continues through this Friday, Feb. 18, at Madison Middle School and Madison High School.
