It was a clean sweep on Thursday night in Viking Gym as the Avery basketball teams won both junior varsity contest and won decisively in each varsity contest.In the early going of the game, Avery freshman guard Kelsie Clark helped Avery take command, scoring nine points in the frame to help the home team break out to a 10-0 scoring run to start the game and an eventual 12-2 after one quarter.
West Wilkes rallied but only cut its deficit to seven at 19-12 by halftime. The Viking offense cooled from its fast start, as it could only muster two field goals in the second period.
As the second half began, the Lady Vikings came out of the locker room on fire, utilizing a 19-5 scoring run in just over four minutes to put the contest out of reach. Seven different Lady Vikings scored in the third quarter alone, led by Clarke who tallied 13 of her game-high 26 points in the stanza.
In addition to the scoring punch, the Lady Vikings ramped up the intensity defensively, prohibiting the Lady Black Hawks from advancing the ball past the half court line on multiple occasions with steals and forced turnovers. Avery took a 45-27 lead after three quarters and cruised to the 61-32 victory.
In addition to her scoring prowess, Kelsie Clarke exploded for the Big Red with six steals and four assists. Shayna Vance added nine points, with eight points from Megan Dellinger and five points, seven rebounds, seven steals, and four assists from Monica Estep. Makayla Nichols tallied 20 points to lead West Wilkes.
“We were very passive on our defense in the first half, so I talked to the girls at halftime and we switched from a zone press to a full-court man-to-man defense, which made everybody responsible,” Lady Vikings head coach Pat Daniels said after the win. “With the man-to-man defense, every player had to use pressure rather than standing and watching them bring the ball up the court. I told the girls if they didn’t play defense during the second half that they’d be sitting with me at the bench, so they responded and did exactly what they were supposed to do.”
Avery worked hard on the glass during the contest for a decided rebounding advantage. The duo of Brooke Buchanan and Danielle Byrd combined to haul in 13 rebounds from the post position.
“Using both players in the post has been our plan all season. We’ll start Brooke one game and Danielle the next, and they both work so well together. Both Brooke and Danielle are awesome defensive players,” Coach Daniels said.
The junior varsity boys team followed the ladies action with a strong performance in capturing a 39-26 win over the JV Black Hawks.
Avery raced out to an early lead of 8-0 and led 8-1 after the first quarter. The Vikings received balanced scoring in the first half, led by Lane Smith’s six points which helped Avery hold an 18-9 halftime advantage.
In the second half, Avery used its pressure defense and patient offense to distance itself from the Black Hawks. Austin Lyons scorched West for seven points in the frame, while a smothering defensive effort boosted the Big Red to a 33-18 lead through three quarters.
The Vikings eased the pressure slightly in the final minutes of the contest and West slightly cut into the Avery advantage. The Vikings were too much in the end, however, as they earned their second victory of the season.
Lane Smith led Avery with 13 points, with 11 points by Austin Lyons.
“The boys gave great effort tonight. I thought the kids played hard. Shea Buchanan showed great court vision and did a solid job at the point tonight.,” JV boys head coach Reggie Oakes said after the win. “We made some shots and did a good job boxing out. We’re still struggling a little bit in that area, but we’re improving. We changed up our defense, and we’re still working on boxing out on a shot and getting to our assignments. Nonetheless we played a good game and it was a good win.”
Avery’s JV clubs are off for the holidays and will return to action on January 5th at
