Dugger 8th grade girls beat Unicoi

from staff reports

The T.A. Dugger 8th-grade girls basketball team dominated from the second quarter until the finish against Unicoi County. After a close first quarter, during with the Jr. Cyclones scored eleven, and the Lady Patriots put up twelve points, the Elizabethton girls took control on both offense and defense, making the score 25-14 at the half.
Led by Mariah Pietrowski, with twelve game points, and Arin Anderson with seven, the Jr. Lady Cyclones wreaked havoc on the court, and took the game with a score of 44-30.
In seventh-grade TAD girls action, a struggle ensued for both teams. Unicoi led 9-7 at the end of the first quarter, but TAD matched the Lady Patriots for points in the second quarter, sinking four points.
After a slightly better third quarter, Unicoi County deepened their lead by two more points. Another tied quarter in the final minutes of the game was enough for the Lady Patriots to slip past TAD, 25-22.
Leah Henson, Hannah Fritz, and Pietrowski gave nearly equal scoring efforts, with nine, eight, and eight points, respectively.
In the Jr. Cyclone boys' games, Unicoi County proved to play the court slightly better. After a slow start, the eighth-grade TAD team couldn't muster the scoring to place them back in the game.
Unicoi played a damaging second quarter, scoring eighteen points against TAD's six. After the Jr. Cyclones bounced back in the third quarter, they were trailing by only twelve points, but the Jr. Patriots hit paydirt with twelve points in the fourth the finish the game at 47-30.
Bo Carter burned the court up for TAD with seventeen points, including two three-pointers. Wendell Loving followed through with seven points, while Brett Thomas led in rebounds with nine.
The seventh-grade TAD boys team had a stunning start, dropping twelve points in the first quarter while Unicoi managed to sink four. A slow second quarter let the Jr. Patriots catch up, and the game entered the half at 16-11 in Dugger's favor.
Unicoi County played a bruising third quarter, scoring thirteen and snatching the lead at 24-33. Despite valiant TAD efforts, the Jr. Patriots plunged ahead, taking the 33-30 win. Zack Montgomery hit two treys for TAD.
In Unaka-Little Milligan action, the Unaka boys dropped their opponents 39-25. Jeff Peters dominated the court, putting away twenty-five points for Unaka. Corey Crumley retaliated for Little Milligan with fourteen, but it wasn't enough to take the game.
The court was a place of struggle for the Unaka and Little Milligan girls. After a game full of tough defense, Unaka pulled ahead when it counted, finishing the game with a score of 27-26.