Avery’s junior varsity squads played its first full week of action since prior to the holidays. The Vikings took on long-time rivals in Western Highlands Conference play in the Mountain Heritage Cougars and Mitchell Mountaineers renewed acquaintances with the Big Red.JV Girls:
The Avery Lady Vikings enjoyed a successful week on the hardwood, building a win streak, evening its season record, and seizing control of first place in the Western Highlands Conference.
On Wednesday evening Avery hosted Mountain Heritage in a snow-delayed makeup contest, defeating the Lady Cougars going away by a 60-28 final score.
Avery built a 13-3 lead after one period, only to see the pesky Lady Cougars cut the deficit to four points at 20-16 at halftime. After intermission the Lady Viking defense surrendered only 12 points, while the Big Red offense shifted into high gear with 40 points over the final two quarters.
The Viking defense and the shooting of guard Kelsie Clarke sparked the rout as she tallied 33 points in the win (20 in the second half) to go with five rebounds, four assists and two steals. Monica Estep added nine points, three rebounds and three steals. Brooke Buchanan chipped in with six points and six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
“We played as badly the first half as we’ve played all year. We changed some things up and switched from a zone defense to a full court, man-to-man defense. I was upset after the first half effort and the team responded,” JV head girls coach Pat Daniels said after the game. “We had three girls in foul trouble, but we moved our feet on defense and they responded well. We played a little uptight and rushed some shots, but we loosened up after halftime.”
On Friday night the Lady Vikings traveled to nearby Ledger to take on border rival Mitchell. Avery built a double-digit lead over the Lady Mountaineers in the first quarter and dominated the balance of the game as the Lady Vikings cruised to a 68-36 victory.
The duo of Kelsie Clarke and Brooke Buchanan shredded the Mitchell defense for a combined 19 of Avery’s 22 first-period points. Avery led 22-10 after one quarter and took a 38-18 advantage to the locker room at halftime.
Clarke continued to score in bunches through the second half and was aided by contributions from teammates Buchanan and Megan Dellinger. Avery led
Clarke tallied 28 points to lead the Big Red, to go with four assists and a pair of steals. Dellinger scored 12 points, with a double-double of 10 points, 10 rebounds, five blocked shots, three assists, and two steals from Brooke Buchanan. Shayna Vance narrowly missed being a fourth player in double-figures as she scored eight.
“Brooke had an absolutely awesome game and Kelsie continues to shoot the ball well,” Coach Daniels said after the win. “We have switched up a couple of things defensively and have gone to a man-to-man press which our girls are better with. They had nine sophomores which worried me, but we truly have a solid team from top to bottom. I was really proud of how the girls stepped up tonight through their hustle and play.”
Avery’s girls evened its mark at 4-4 with the win, and sit in first place in conference play with a 3-0 record.
JV Boys:The Avery junior varsity boys team tried to build off its recent victory over
On Wednesday Avery hosted Heritage in Viking Gym but was unable to claim victory as the Cougars upended the Vikings by a 45-25 final margin.
Both teams started the game slow as the Vikings could manage only two points in the first quarter. Heritage fared little better but held an 8-2 advantage after the opening stanza.
The Cougars managed to extend their lead slightly in the second quarter. Only three Avery players, Dustin Clark, Bryce Pittman, and Lane Smith, scored in the first half as the Big Red trailed 16-8 at halftime.
Once both coaches made adjustments at halftime, the offenses for both teams picked up. Smith sparked Avery with seven of his team-high nine points in the third quarter. Unfortunately for the home team, Mountain Heritage outscored Avery 14-11 in the stanza to increase its margin yet again to 30-19. The Vikings could not forge a rally to cut the Cougar cushion as Mountain Heritage escaped Newland with the win.
Smith added six rebounds to his point total. No other Avery player scored over four points in the loss, and 23 turnovers hampered Avery’s hopes for a win over the Cougars.
“We need to box out better. Offensively we have to do a better job of running the floor and looking up the floor,” junior varsity boys head coach Reggie Oakes said after the game. “Patience in the half-court set is important as well. Those were three points of emphasis that we need to improve on.”
On Friday night the Vikings traveled to Ledger to take on the Mitchell Mountaineers. The two teams played a tight, low-scoring first half as neither team could build a lead of more than two or three possessions.
Mitchell slowly pushed its lead forward in the third quarter to build a lead of eight to ten points. The Vikings worked to narrow the gap but second-chance opportunities on the offensive end and a tough Mountaineer defense repelled any chance for a come-from-behind victory as Mitchell took a 38-30 victory.
“Defensively I thought we played good team defense. Offensively we had some good looks but they just didn’t fall,” Coach Oakes said following the loss. “We need to work on crashing the boards. I’d like to see us run the floor a little better and have better spacing on our secondary break.
Avery hosted Owen earlier this week in conference action with both junior varsity clubs picking up victories. The teams travel to West Wilkes to play this Thursday.
