T.A. Dugger sweeps HV
By Ivan Sanders
STAR STAFF
isanders@starhq.com
The T.A. Dugger Jr. Cyclones blew through the
Dugger gym like the wind that howled through the barren trees
on Thursday, as the boys and girls' eighth-grade teams came
away with resounding victories.
In opening action, the Jr. Lady Cyclones managed
to pull away from the Jr. Lady Warriors in the latter part
of the second period and ran away with a 44-21 opening season
win.
"All the girls were a little scared and jittery
to start the game, and were worrying about making mistakes,"
said Jr. Lady Cyclone head coach Angie Barker. "We told them
to relax and they started to play like a team late in the
second quarter by playing tough defense as well as making
really great passes on offense."
Jasmine Treadway paced the Lady 'Clones with
10 points, six of those coming in the third period when TAD
turned a 25-10 halftime advantage into a 40-12 edge by the
end of the quarter. Hannah Fritz and Kelli Culler tossed in
eight points each to aid the TAD cause.
A couple more players that Coach Barker was pleased
with were Leah Henson and Mariah Pietrowski.
"Pietrowski really stepped up and played well,"
stated Barker. "We were also pleased with Henson, who has
improved her game and is playing like we want her to."
Leading the charge for the Lady Warriors was
Hannah Banks, who hit for eight points, followed by Courtney
Byers coming off the bench with five points. Leandra Mullins
and Summer Ward chipped in with four points each for Happy
Valley.
Said HV coach Dana Hill: "We played with a very
talented team early, but those last three minutes of the second
quarter they made a run and we never could catch up. I thought
Hannah Banks and Amber Dugger did a great job handling their
pressure. We can build on the simply fact that we were able
to play with such a talented team as Dugger has."
With the win, the Jr. Lady Cyclones are 1-0 on
the young season while Happy Valley dropped to 0-3, having
lost to Vance and Gray in the early going.
The Lady Warriors host Unaka on Tuesday. TAD
visits Vance next Thursday.
Boys
T.A. Dugger 48
Happy Valley 13
The T.A. Dugger boys team picked up where the
girls left off, as TAD raced out to a 13-3 first-quarter lead
and never looked back in taking the lopsided affair.
Riding the hot hand of Bo Carter, who scored
all 11 of his game-high total in the first half, the Jr. Cyclones
were never really challenged as Ryan Green also netted 11
points to keep the fire on the Jr. Warriors.
"The guys did a great job in bouncing back after
a tough loss to Bluff City in overtime by showing tremendous
heart out there on the court," said Jr. Cyclone coach James
Jacobs. "It was definitely a team effort and I thought the
defense held when it had to."
David Martin added nine points, including five
of five from the foul line for TAD, while Brent Thomas tossed
in five and Ryan Birchfield added four points along with Aaron
Bradford for the Jr. Cyclones.
Happy Valley received six points from Jesse Richardson
to show the way for the Jr. Warriors. Nathan Whitson, Tyler
Blevins and Cody Hyder pitched in with two points each while
Nathan Kapoor closed out the scoring with a free throw.
"This was really an improvement for us after
we had a really good practice yesterday," said Happy Valley
coach Rik Anderson. "If we can keep on coming out and doing
one or two good things each game, we should be able to get
to a level where we are ready to play with some of these teams
like TAD."
TAD evened its record at 1-1 on the season and
will play against Vance at home next Thursday. Happy Valley
entertains Unaka on Monday.
7th-grade boys
T.A. Dugger 31
Happy Valley 23
T.A. Dugger's seventh grade boys improved to
2-0 on the young basketball season with a 31-23 win over Happy
Valley.
Jared Lyons paced the Jr. Cyclone squad with
10 points, while Zac Montgomery, Kendall Walsh and Vic Deloach
added seven points apiece in the the T.A. Dugger win.
