As 2025 starts, basketball season starts to heat up. The six high school teams in Cherokee County will be looking ahead to the remainder of the 2024-25 basketball season as conference play starts and teams try to peak at the right time.
Andrews boys
The Wildcats are off to a 6-3 overall start and are 1-1 in the Big Smoky Mountain Conference. Their lone SMC loss came to Cherokee on Dec. 13, 2024 and their win came in a tight game against Robbinsville on Dec. 17.
Key players to watch include their seniors Ty Clark, Braxton Rickett, Landon Greene, Eli Aguilar and Keegan Ellis. They will likely make a big impact down the stretch.
Upcoming games to watch include their rematch with Franklin—a top team in 3A West—at home on Jan. 9. Their rematch with Robbinsville on the road on Jan. 31 will also be one to watch. Their two matchups against Murphy are Feb. 4 and Feb. 13, which is always a big game for both teams.
Andrews girls
The Lady Wildcats are 5-4 overall and 1-1 in the SMC as they prepare to come back from winter break. Like with the boys team, their conference win came against Robbinsville and only conference loss came to Cherokee.
Players to watch as the season picks up is senior Kylie Donaldson, who reached the 1,000-point milestone on Dec. 20, and freshmen Drea Cutshaw and Knox Davis.
Some upcoming games to pay attention to as they come back from break are their rematch with Hiwassee Dam on Jan. 10. Last time these two teams played, the Lady Wildcats lost by five points in one of their closest games this season.
Other games to watch include their rematch with Robbinsville on the road on Jan. 31, their games against Hayesville on Jan. 21 and Feb. 7, as well as their matchups against in-county competition Murphy on Feb. 4 and Feb. 13.
Hiwassee Dam boys
This young Eagles team is off to a good start so far this season as they are 6-3 overall and 1-0 in the Little Smoky Mountain Conference.
Their three losses have come to Andrews, Robbinsville and Murphy of the SMC. They have also faced Swain County and Hayesville of the SMC and have emerged victorious.
Players to watch in the second half of the season include freshman Jonah Dockery, juniors Aidan Bennett and Jimmy Kelley, and seniors Braiden Ledford and Luke Harbin.
Upcoming games to watch include their rematch with Hayesville on Jan. 7, their two matchups with Nantahala on Jan. 28 and Feb. 7, as well as their rematch with Highlands on Feb. 4 which could be a preview of the LSMC championship game.
Hiwassee Dam girls
The Lady Eagles are off to a strong start in their 2024-25 season. Their record heading to break is 7-2 overall, but they are 0-1 in the LSMC. Their lone loss came to Highlands on Dec. 13 when they lost 48-43.
Other than the loss to Highlands, their only other loss was at home to Copper Basin, Tenn. on Nov. 22.
They have wins over SMC competition in Andrews, Murphy, Swain County, Robbinsville and Hayesville. The closest game out of those five was their five-point win over Andrews. The rest of those wins have been by 14 points or more.
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Players to watch coming out of winter break will be senior Olivia McNabb, juniors Brinkley Payne and Brooklyn Hyde, as well as freshman Abby Harris.
Their upcoming games to watch will be their rematch against Hayesville on Jan. 7, as well as LSMC games against Highlands on Feb. 4 and Blue Ridge Early College on Jan. 31 and Feb. 11.
Their rematch against Highlands will likely be a preview of the LSMC championship this year as it was last year.
The Lady Eagles are on a similar trajectory as they were last season as they were 9-2 at this point last season. They went on to finish the season with a 23-5 record, winning the conference and making it to the third round of the playoffs.
Murphy boys
The Bulldogs have started the season 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the SMC. Their win came against Hiwassee Dam on the road. Their three losses have come to Robbinsville and twice to Franklin. On Dec. 23, they fell to Franklin in their rematch 79-60.
Players to watch coming out of winter break include Tyler Payne, Ryan Payne, Cale Harger, Abram Twiggs and Brady Golden. Once the team gets further into the season, their core group will begin to gel and could be a force in the SMC.
The Dogs were the last team to start their season because of football. The majority of the team plays football and head coach Heath Curtis is an assistant coach on the football team.
Games to watch in the second half of the season include their two games against Andrews on Feb. 4 and Feb. 13, their rematch with Hiwassee Dam at home on Feb. 6 and their two games against Hayesville on Jan. 24 and Feb. 11.
Murphy girls
The Lady Bulldogs have started the season with an overall record of 2-4 including a huge win over Franklin in their second meeting of the season on Dec. 23. The Lady Dogs got their second win of the season with a 61-48 win against Franklin on the road.
Their other win came against Greenback, Tenn. in their season opener set for Nov. 25.
Some players to watch in the second half of the season include Julia Dockery, Emma Hensley, Cayla Geer and Emma Laney.
Upcoming games to watch include two matchups with Gilmer County in Elijay, Ga., on Jan. 11 and Jan. 18, their game against Summit Charter at home on Jan. 9 and their two games against Andrews on Feb. 4 and Feb. 13.
SMC preview
On the boys side, the SMC is beginning to take shape as teams have played one or two games. Toward the middle of Jan., we will get a better look at how the SMC will shape up heading into the conference tournament at the end of February.
As teams prepare to start up after winter break, here’s how the SMC looks. Cherokee sits atop the SMC after a 2-0 start in the conference. Andrews, Robbinsville and Hayesville are tied at 1-1
in the conference and Murphy and Swain County are 0-1.
On the girls side, it is very much the same as it is still too early to get a full look at how the conference will end up. One thing that is almost guaranteed is that Cherokee will end the season atop the SMC and will more than likely go undefeated in the conference again this season.
The girls SMC standings are the exact same as the boys, but will likely be shaken up as teams play more games.
LSMC preview
In the Little Smoky Mountain Conference, teams have only played one conference game so far this season, but it israre to see much variation year-to-year in theLSMC.
On the boys side, Hiwassee Dam and Nantahala sit atop the conference with a 1-0 record. Highlands and Blue Ridge Early College are both 0-1.
On the girls side, there are only three teams this season as Nantahala did not have enough players to field a team.
As it sits in the girls LSMC standings, Highlands is atop at 1-0, with Hiwassee Dam in second at 0-1. Blue Ridge Early College has yet to play a conference game.