Following a tough loss at Mitchell, the Avery Lady Vikings faced a busy week with three conference games. Avery struggled against a game group from Owen, but squeaked by with a narrow 54-52 win, then dismantled Thomas Jefferson not once but twice in games this past Friday and Monday evenings.Avery forced Owen into several poor shots in the opening stanza, but had its own share of difficulties in scoring around the basket. Avery did manage to sink seven shots, including six points from senior guard Lauren Avery, to take a 16-13 advantage after one quarter.
Try as they may, the Lady Vikings were unable to pull away on the scoreboard. Avery shot just 5 of 20 from the field in the second quarter, mainly unable to cash in on scoring points in the paint. Owen’s Alyssa Hensley drained a pair of three-pointers in the first half to keep the Warlassies close as Avery led 27-21 at intermission.
Avery’s normal offensive rhythm was disrupted by the Warlassies defense as the two teams played to a standstill in the third quarter and the Big Red maintained its six-point margin at
In the final eight minutes Avery regained its ability to score inside. Lauren Avery scored nine of her game-high 21 points in the fourth period, while senior teammate Sara Wiseman scored five points in the frame. Owen gained the lead early in the fourth quarter by scoring the first seven points in the stanza to lead 40-39 and tied the game an another juncture at 41-41.
Avery could build no greater than a four-point edge over the final four minutes of play. In the waning seconds the Warlassies tried to tie the game on a Shae Frizzell three-point shot, but Lady Viking senior Hayley Pyatte blocked the attempt to preserve the Avery lead and victory.
Lauren Avery tallied nine rebounds and a pair of steals and assists in the win, with nine points and 14 rebounds from Wiseman, along with nine points along with ten rebounds from Katelynn Eudy. Elyse Perry also added seven points in the victory.
After weather postponed Thursday’s game at West Wilkes, the Lady Vikings traveled to Mooresboro last Friday to face the Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy Gryphons. TJCA put up a good fight through the first half with the Big Red, even getting an early 5-2 advantage before Avery came back to lead by five points after one quarter and by only ten points at halftime. A strong third quarter blew the game open, however, as Avery routed the Gryphons 71-40.
Avery had more than its share of scoring opportunities inside in the first half and made the most of them. Avery relied heavily on its size advantage inside to score from under the basket. Lady Viking starters Elyse Perry, Lauren Avery, Hayley Pyatte, and Katelynn Eudy made a pair of baskets apiece in the frame.
The Gryphons found offensive success in the first half with a number of baskets in the paint as well as a trio of three-point shots.
Eudy’s 12 points in the first half helped the Lady Vikings gain a 37-27 advantage at halftime.
Both teams struggled to score as the second half began, as neither team scored during the first three minutes. Once Avery scored its first points, however, the floodgates opened and the rout was on. Passes were crisper and the team took advantage of the baseline openings offered by the Thomas Jefferson defense by hitting several short jump shots. Sophomore Megan Tennant scored six points off the bench for the Big Red in the third period and the Lady Vikings raced out to a 11-0 run, turning a somewhat close game into a blowout.
Avery forced the Gryphons into 11 turnovers in the third quarter alone and 25 for the game. Thomas Jefferson made just 2 of 11 shots from the field as Avery led 55-30 through the three periods and poured it on for the 31-point win.
Katelynn Eudy netted 16 points, with 13 rebounds and three assists as Avery won its13th game of the season. Elyse Perry (11 points, seven assists, five steals), Hayley Pyatte (10 points, six assists, five steals, four rebounds), and Lauren Avery (10 points, six steals, six assists) all reached double-figures scoring, with eight points off the bench from Megan Tennant and six from Mercedes Bentley. Murphy D’Oyen paced Thomas Jefferson with 14 points.
The two squads met in a rematch in Newland this past Monday evening with much of the same results as the Friday affair, as Avery again dismantled the Gryphons by a 79-29 final score.
Avery began the game with four fast baskets to prompt a Thomas Jefferson time out. The pause only delayed the inevitable, however, as the Lady Vikings roared to a 20-2 start on the scoreboard, led 26-4 at the end of one quarter on 60 percent shooting (9 for 20) from the field.
The Lady Vikings increased its advantage to
The only blemish on a terrific Avery performance came in the second quarter when senior guard Hayley Pyatte re-injured a knee, was helped off the court and did not return to the game.
Katelynn Eudy followed up Friday’s double-double performance from Friday with a repeat effort as she scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds with four steals. Lauren Avery (8 assists, 5 rebounds, 4 steals), Elyse Perry (5 assists, 2 steals) and Megan Tennant (4 rebounds) scored ten points apiece in the victory, with eight points each from Sara Wiseman and Mercedes Bentley.
The Lady Vikings improve to 14-2 on the season with a 6-1 conference mark. Avery traveled to
