Continuing one of the best regular seasons in school history, the Avery Lady Vikings topped the 20-win mark after four victories, forcing close to 100 turnovers combined in three wins last week on the road against Madison, Owen, and Mountain Heritage, respectively. Avery continued its win streak by upending the Hendersonville Lady Bearcats on Monday night back in the friendly octagonal confines of Viking Gym.In the Tuesday, February 2nd game at Madison, Avery encountered a Lady Patriot squad on their Senior Night. Avery grabbed a 14-7 lead after one quarter and blew the game open behind the hot shooting of junior Mercedes Bentley. The guard scorched the nets for 16 second-quarter points as part of a game-high 19 point effort. The flurry resulted in almost as many points as Madison had as a team for the entire half as the Big Red led 45-18 at intermission.
From that point, the Lady Vikings defense did more than enough to sustain the momentum, forcing a total of 31 Madison turnovers for the game. Junior forward Katelynn Eudy scored 13 points in the contest, but also nabbed 12 rebounds and blocked five shots as part of the 71-48 Avery triumph. Megan Tennant scored 11 points off the bench, while Sara Wiseman scored ten points and grabbed eight rebounds. Kaitlyn Huff led Madison with 18 points in a losing effort.
The following night the Lady Vikings journeyed to Black Mountain to take on the Owen Warlassies, a team that gave Avery one of its closest games of the year in a two-point win in January. Avery jumped ahead early and withstood a late Owen rally to defeat the Warlassies 69-60.
Avery raced to an 8-0 run to start the game and took a commanding 24-6 lead after one period and built the lead to as much as 30-8 early in the second stanza behind 13 first-half points from Katelynn Eudy. Owen slightly cut into the advantage with seven points from guard Shae Frizzell, leaving the Lady Vikings with a 35-21 halftime bulge.
Another Avery scoring charge in the third quarter, this time fueled by six points from Sara Wiseman, extended the Lady Viking lead to 19 at 53-34 after three quarters.
The duo of Sheena Twitty and Frizzell sparked an Owen comeback over the final eight minutes. The combination netted 10 points each in the quarter, and a Frizzell three-pointer drew Owen within single digits at 58-49 with over two minutes left to play.
Owen decided in the closing minutes to send Avery to the foul line, a decision the Lady Vikings, and Lauren Avery in particular, made the Warlassies pay for. The senior guard was 10 of 11 from the free throw line in the final period as part of a 19-point, 6 rebound performance, helping the Lady Vikings stave off a game Owen club.
The Big Red forced 33 turnovers for the game while committing only 13 themselves. Sara Wiseman had a great effort for Avery with 20 points, 6 rebounds, and three steals, with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 5 steals, and 4 blocks from Katelynn Eudy. Elyse Perry added eight points and six assists in the win.
In the final leg of its back-to-back-to-back series of games, Avery visited the Mountain Heritage Lady Cougars in Burnsville, again using a strong second quarter flurry to instigate a runaway victory as the Lady Vikings earned a 63-36 win.
Through the first eight minutes the teams played evenly thanks to three 3-point baskets from Heritage’s Kayla Sheppard. The junior scored 11 points in the quarter to help the Lady Cougars to a 15-11 lead, but Avery’s Mercedes Bentley and Lauren Avery sparked a 12-0 scoring run to take the lead for good. The pair combined to score 16 points during the stretch to pull Avery ahead 23-15 early in the second quarter.
Avery’s defensive pressure caged the Lady Cougars in the second period while the Lady Vikings offense shot 10 of 18 from the field. Guard Lauren Avery scored 18 first-half points in all and dominated the inside area under the basket. Numerous rebounds and Avery’s size advantage inside was too much for Heritage to handle as the Lady Vikings led 43-22 at halftime.
The Lady Viking defense made a statement in the third
quarter as it held the Lady Cougars without a point for nearly four minutes, a field goal for nine minutes of play that included the entire third quarter, and allowed only a pair of Lady Cougar free throws. Avery outscored Heritage 11-2 for the quarter to extend its lead to 54-24 en route to the 27-point win.Lauren Avery led ten Lady Viking players with 22 points, a single point shy of a career-high, with 12 points from Mercedes Bentley and eight points from Katelynn Eudy.
This past Monday the Lady Vikings hosted Hendersonville for “Vikings vs. Cancer” Night at Viking Gym, where the Avery players and coaches wore pink and donations were accepted on behalf of Haley Calloway, former Lady Viking basketball player undergoing cancer treatments at Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem.
Calloway was in attendance at the game, present on the Lady Viking bench Monday night as an honorary coach. Avery routed the Lady Bearcats 72-47 in Hendersonville a couple of weeks earlier, and with inspired play obliterated the Lady Bearcats from the opening tip in a 78-26 victory, the team’s 20th win of the season.
Hendersonville had no answer for the potent Lady Vikings offense. Avery opened the game on a 14-2 scoring run and raced to a 27-12 lead after one period. In the second quarter the Lady Vikings defense kicked into high gear, denying the Lady Bearcats a single point in the quarter. A 23-0 run in the eight minutes of play making up the period turned the game into a laugher as Avery led 50-12 at halftime.
The entire Avery roster saw extensive minutes to give every player ample opportunity for floor time, as well as give head coach Missy Lyons the chance to rest her starters for the game scheduled the next evening against Mitchell.
Everyone who saw minutes contributed to the victory as Avery build a monumental 71-17 lead after three quarters and cruised to its 20th win with only two defeats.
Avery shot 49 percent (31 for 63) from the field as a team and forced 27 Hendersonville turnovers. All five Lady Viking starters scored double-figures, led by 17 points from Lauren Avery, who added four steals, four assists, and three rebounds. Elyse Perry netted 13 points, six assists, and five steals. Mercedes Bentley added 11 points, with ten points from Katelynn Eudy and 10 points, 13 rebounds, and four blocks, and three steals from Sara Wiseman. Over five hundred dollars was raised to benefit Calloway during the course of the evening.
The Lady Vikings were scheduled to host Mitchell on Tuesday for Senior Night, but inclement weather postponed the matchup to Friday night. The night will be Paint It Black (or Red) Night, as fans are encouraged to wear red or black t-shirts to support the Vikings.
In addition, Young Adults Helping Haiti will be holding a fund raising effort to help victims of the recent Haiti earthquake. A scheduled make-up game set for Friday at West Wilkes has been cancelled to play the Mitchell contest.
A full report on Friday’s action can be found in next week’s print edition as well as at www.ajtsports.blogspot.com , the AJ-T Sports Online Edition.
