Hiwassee Dam – It was a packed house Thursday night as in-county rivals faced off on the court.
“The Nest” was full and loud as fans across Cherokee County saw the Lady Eagles win, followed by the Wildcats ending the night with the victory.
Lady Eagles win
Hiwassee Dam emerges victorious after a strong second half elevated them to the win over the Lady Wildcats on Thursday night.
The battle started just a minute into the game, when the Lady Eagles scored first. Hiwassee Dam scored seven consecutive points before Andrews put themselves on the board with a 3-pointer by Dréa Cutshaw. Multiple steals from both teams kept the ball moving up and down the court.
The Wildcats proved persistent in the second quarter, as they fought to keep the game close. The Eagles gained control over the game when they extended their lead to 10 with just over two minutes left in the half. In less than a minute, the Wildcats nearly closed the gap before halftime, leaving the score at 25-21.
Resuming the game with more intensity from both teams, the girls were hot on their heels throughout their plays. The Wildcats picked up the pace of the game as the time ticked away through aggressive plays and quick offense. The Eagles, however, fought back even harder and increased their lead, leaving the score at 42-31 at the end of the third quarter.
Hiwassee Dam took complete control of the game in the last quarter. The players on both teams got heated as the Lady Wildcats continued to put up a fight.
When the Eagles reached a 20-point advantage, Andrews sat most of their starters, who had played most of the game. Brooklyn Hyde made late free throws to extend Hiwassee Dam’s lead with less than a minute left in the game.
With the final score at 65-43, the Lady Eagles walked off the court with the support of their loudly cheering fans and cheerleaders after their 11th win of the season.
The Lady Eagles’ top scorer was Olivia McNabb, who dropped 30 points, including going a perfect 8/8 from the field for 16 points in the second half. Brooklyn Hyde scored 14 points, while Brinkley Payne had 12.
For the Wildcats, Cutshaw led the team with 12 points. Kylie Donaldson and Alexis Beasley were also in double digits with 10 points each.
Lady Eagles head coach David Payne said after Thursday’s game that his team was a bit sloppy at times but played well.
“I thought we played pretty well. At times we were a little bit sloppy, we got stagnant and didn’t move, but overall we did a pretty good job as far as getting to people defensively, taking away their outside shot,” he said.
“Offensively is where I think we struggled just a little bit, and they did a good job playing defense on us. Overall, I’m pleased with our effort.”
With the game close at halftime, Payne’s message to the team during halftime was, “We just talked about what we’re trying to do and whether that’s available or not. They were taking away some of the things we like to do, so then we have to adjust and do some different stuff.
“ ‘Hey, look, we’re still us,’ still trying to do what we want to do, but we’re also going to have to adapt and take advantage of some of the things they’re giving up and we did a good job of that in the second half.”
Payne said the win gives the team confidence heading into upcoming Little Smoky Mountain Conference games.
“It’s always good to win,” Payne said. “We knew Andrews was going to come in trying to get us ... We knew they would come in with a lot of energy and put us in a spot where we had to play well. The first half was evidence of that.”
Lady Wildcats head coach Tim Wood said his team underachieved in their loss to the Lady Eagles.
“Overall, I felt like we played below our standard we’ve tried to set. I do feel that we had a really solid first half, and that our girls played really well. [Hiwassee Dam] is a talented and well coached team, so we knew we would have our hands full. So the first half I thought put us in a good position to win the ball game if we came out of half time strong,” he said.
“Unfortunately that wasn’t the case, and we made too many mistakes that allowed [Hiwassee Dam] to capitalize on. We can’t do that against good teams and expect to win. I don’t put this loss on the girls, the loss last night is on me. I have to do better, and figure out how to pinpoint and correct our weaknesses.”
With Big Smoky Mountain Conference games looming next week, Wood said they are working hard, but they will re-evaluate heading into those games.
“Well as the coach is ultimately my responsibility to figure out how to win these big games. That is not the fault of the girls, it is mine. They are working hard, and anyone that watches us knows we have a talented and dangerous team if we are playing well,” he said.
“I have talked all year about us having to get better at doing the little things ... I have to do better, and figure out how to pinpoint and correct our weaknesses.
“Myself, along with my assistants are going to re-evaluate so we can figure out how to address those issues before we really start into conference next week. That will be our primary focus as we go throughout the remainder of this season.”
Wildcats get big win
After starting the game close, Andrews took full control of the game and got the win Thursday night. Led by Gabe Clark with 28 points, the Wildcats defeated the Eagles 69-38.
The Eagles took an early lead, but then the Wildcats quickly tied the game at four points each. Gabe Clark made the first 3-pointer of the game to give the Wildcats the lead.
In the closing minutes of the first quarter, Gabe Clark did a crossover then stepped back for a mid-range jump shot to extend their lead. As he drained the shot, the Wildcats’ fans loudly cheered.
The Wildcats came into the second quarter leading by eight points and only grew their lead as the game went on. The Wildcats continued to score and added on 20 points in the second quarter to lead 39-19 at halftime.
Coming out of the half, Gabe Clark continued to drain from distance as he made two more 3-pointers in the third quarter. With 1:15 left in the third, the Wildcats extended their lead past the 20-point mark, while Hiwassee Dam was held to just 10 points in the third quarter.
Hiwassee Dam fans loudly cheered in the fourth quarter when Brock Hyde drained a shot to give the Eagles a breath of life. However, the Wildcats kept doing their thing in the fourth quarter and closed out a 69-38 win.
Gabe Clark led the Wildcats with 28 points, while Shuler and Ty Clark both had 11 points and Braxton Rickett had 10 points. Every Wildcat who played in the game scored at least two points.
The Eagles were led by Jonah Dockery, who had seven points from the field and went a perfect 2/2 from the free throw line. Braiden Ledford had four points, all of which came in the first quarter as he 4/4 from the free throw line in the opening quarter.
Wildcats head coach Matt Maennle said after the game, “We played well ... We responded well, had some guys step up...
“We just kept fighting. We got into foul trouble and we’re going to have to avoid that moving forward with our numbers, which we will when they get in better shape,” he said.
The Wildcats notched their 10th of the season Thursday night. Maennle spoke on the importance of recent wins.
“Wins are always good, but it’s the way we’ve done it. My dad, he’s my assistant coach, talks about how when the clock strikes eight and starts counting down the guys’ motors are warm and they’re making basketball plays, unselfish plays,” Maennle said.
“I was just talking to the guys about Myca Mustin. He started playing three years ago, and his basketball skills are not there like some guys. I’ve got some really skilled basketball players on my team, but Myca’s effort will help us down the road and him being able to get rebounds and find the guys who he knows needs the ball in their hands. He knows he’s not a shooter or a scorer, but he knows his teammates well. So we can keep getting him good minutes if we can have our big guns keep being big guns.”
Wildcats senior Ty Clark spoke about how he and the team approach a game where they are friends off the court with the opposing team, such as Thursday’s game.
“I’m really close with a lot of the Hiwassee Dam guys. Once the girls game is over, it’s business,” Clark said. “For me, that starts even as the girls are playing. Just getting in the locker room and focusing on the things we need to do, matchups. I’m not thinking about who I’m playing, I’m thinking about who I’m matching up with, not who’s my friend or buddy …
“My mindset is all about winning once we get here and get off the bus.”
Being a senior, Clark talked about the importance of keeping morale high heading into Big Smoky Mountain Conference games.
“It’s really huge. We’ve had some really heartbreaking years in the past, my whole high school career really. We’ve had, I believe, the best teams every year, but we get to this point after the non-conference and stuff starts happening and people get tired, so the main thing for me is focus,” Clark said.
“... Working every day in the gym and getting better, that’s the mentality I want the guys to have. The guys have fun and we hit shots, make great plays, that’s the best way to keep morale up is to win. To win in a tough place like this, I think this is one of the hardest places to play outside of maybe Cherokee. So the goal is to win, but also enjoy the game while we’re doing it.”