Through one quarter of Friday night’s varsity girls game, the winless Lady Pioneers held a one-point edge over the Avery Lady Vikings. The Big Red seized control of the game midway through the second quarter, as four players reached double figures in a 61-53 Avery win.Watauga took a surprising 14-13 lead after one quarter with the help of a pair of three-pointers from Shelby Gilliam. Avery shot only 3 of 17 from the field in the first quarter, but was dominant throughout the night from inside the paint. Sara Wiseman scored five of her 13 points in the first quarter and pulled down eight rebounds overall in the contest.
Avery took the lead for good in the second period with a 12-3 scoring run, as Mercedes Bentley hit a pair of three-pointers off the bench and the Vikings shot 7 of 13 from the field. Katelynn Eudy and Elyse Perry each added a pair of baskets in the quarter to stake Avery to a 32-24 halftime advantage.
“We knew they had big post players, but I felt like my big girls were able to outplay them. We owned the boards in the first half. We out-hustled them, Sara played great and Eudy went in and played well,” Lady Vikings head coach Missy Lyons said. “We might have over-passed the ball some, but we still distributed the ball well. I was pleased with how unselfish the team was and impressed with how they just want to go out there and win ballgames.”
As the third quarter began, the Lady Vikings used three baskets from Lauren Avery to race out to a double-figure advantage. A 14-2 run to open the half extended the Viking bulge to 20 points at 46-26. The Pioneers responded with its own 14-2 run by quarter’s end. Christina Rees tallied 10 of her team-high 18 points in the stanza to bring the Avery lead to within eight at 48-40 through three periods.
The Vikings maintained its lead to pick up the victory as Perry was 5 of 6 from the free throw line in the quarter. As a team, the Lady Vikings were 17 of 31 from the charity stripe, while Watauga was only 3 of 12 from the free throw line.
Avery shot 43 percent from the field in the game, while holding the Lady Pioneers to 36 percent shooting.
The Lady Vikings (4-1) had four players score in double figures led by Sara Wiseman's 13 points and eight rebounds. Elyse Perry also scored 13 points with five assists, three steals, and three rebounds. Lauren Avery scored 12 points with seven rebounds and five assists, while Katelynn Eudy had a double-double with ten points, 13 rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Bentley and Hayley Pyatte added six points apiece in the win.
Avery’s triumph snapped a four-game losing skid to the Lady Pioneers.
“It felt great to get the win. The girls have worked hard and they’re always competitive with Watauga. We’ve let the last few slip through our fingers, and it was good for us to pick up this win,” Coach Lyons added.
Avery and Watauga will meet in a rematch this Friday night at
