The Avery boys and girls varsity teams played last Tuesday, January 19th at home against Owen, sweeping the Warhorses and Warlassies for victories. The Lady Viking JVs also traveled to Morganton for a non-conference contest at Freedom, falling by a 44-34 final score.The junior varsity boys played its only contest at home against the Warhorses and put together a strong second-half effort to pull away for a 37-19 victory.
Both offenses started slowly as Avery held a thin 6-5 lead. The Big Red doubled its lead just before intermission to 17-11 as Dylan Greene drained a three-pointer at the buzzer ending the first half.
Avery held the Warhorses to only four points in the third quarter while the Vikings padded its advantage to
Dustin Clark led Avery with 10 points and eight rebounds. Greene finished with eight points and four rebounds.
“Especially midway through the third quarter we started picking the intensity defensively. We just didn’t show much intensity early in the game and I was doing everything I could think of to motivate them,” Avery JV boys head coach Reggie Oakes said after the win. “The shot at the end of the half was huge and we executed well to get the shot away. That gave us a lift coming into the second half. The defensive intensity and our press bothered Owen in the third quarter and gave us a lot of confidence offensively.”
Earlier in the evening the Lady Viking junior varsity girls dismantled the JV Warlassies by a 43-18 final score.
The Lady Vikings began the contest with an 11-0 run and never looked back, leading 14-2 after one quarter and wreaking havoc on the Warlassies with its defense. A 13-4 margin in the second period put the game away early as the Lady Vikings led 27-6 at intermission.
During the second half, a number of reserves saw playing action and contributed to the Avery attack. Avery outscored Owen 8-6 in the third quarter to lead 35-12 en route to its 25-point triumph.
Kelsie Clarke was the only Lady Viking in double figures with 15 points, to go with six steals, four assists, and two rebounds. Danielle Byrd scored five points with five rebounds and three blocks, with four points apiece from Brooke Buchanan, Monica Estep, Sela Pittman, and Johanna Pittman.
“I told the girls we needed to go out and have fun. Kelsie had a good game on the offensive end,” Avery JV girls head coach Pat Daniels said following the win. “Our bench filled in and did a really good job for us. We switched to a zone defense which really seemed to shut them down.”
Avery ventured out of conference the following evening, taking on the Lady Patriots of
A total of 23 turnovers hurt the Lady Vikings and prevented the team from its usual taking over of the game. Freedom built as large as a 13-point lead with two minutes to play in the fourth quarter when head coach Pat Daniels replaced all five players to give reserves time and experience against a tough 4A foe.
Avery received instant contributions from the bench as Kristen Burleson, Taylor Hobbs, and MacKenzie Thomas each hit three-point shots within 30 seconds of checking into the game to cut into Freedom’s lead. The Lady Patriots proved too difficult in the end as they garnered the 10-point win.
“We seemed a little tired going into the fourth quarter and weren’t concentrating very well. The inability to get into a normal practice schedule lately and having few games may have bothered us,” Coach Daniels remarked. “Some of our leading offensive players did not have a strong game and we just seemed more tired than usual.”
Brooke Buchanan had a strong out on the frontline for the Lady Vikings, tallying four blocks in the game, while teammate Danielle Byrd scored five points.
“Our frontcourt really picked us up. Brooke had one of her best games and Danielle had a number of rebounds to help us,” Coach Daniels said. “The energy from our reserves was really a bright spot and it gave them confidence.”
Avery’s junior varsity squads traveled to
