Hiwassee Dam – When teams have out-of-conference basketball games, especially with out-of-state opponents, there is not a rivalry between the two teams, but that is not the case when Hiwassee Dam takes on Copper Basin, Tenn. Because of the proximity of the two schools, the game has a rivalry built in.
The Hiwassee Dam Lady Eagles (13-3) were not kind to their neighbors as they dispatched the Lady Cougars (7-8) by a score of 63-35 on Jan. 23. To make the win even sweeter, junior Olivia McNabb hit her 1,000th point at the end of the game.
The Lady Eagles jumped out to a 25-18 lead in the first half behind the scoring of Brooklyn Hyde and Katie McNabb, with each contributing six points to account for almost half of the Lady Eagles’ total in the first half. Not sure what speech coach Davis Payne gave at halftime, but he needs to bottle it and sell it.
Brinkley Payne led a 26-5 run on the Lady Cougars in the third quarter. Payne popped for nine of the 26 points during the run, while Brooklyn Hyde added six and Olivia McNabb had four more points.
At the end of the third period, the Lady Eagles had the game put away with a 56-31 lead. The fourth quarter was about even, with both teams scoring 12 apiece, but there was a special moment at the end of the game.
O. McNabb had 11 points going into the fourth quarter. She added eight more in the fourth quarter, and with her last field goal eclipsed the 1,000-point mark of her high school career. That last shot at the end of the game gave Hiwassee Dam a 63-35 win against the Lady Cougars.
O. McNabb led all scorers with 19 points. Brooklyn Hyde had 14 points and Brinkley Payne had 13 to round out the Lady Eagles in double scoring. Kloie Ballew led the Lady Cougars with 12 points.
Eagles boys win 63-53
The Eagles’ boys team kept the inhospitality going in the second game as they defeated the Cougars 63-53.
Clay Davis went 3-5 from beyond the arch and added a field goal in the first quarter to give the Eagles to a 20-17 first-quarter lead. Each team matched scores in the second period, but Davis still wasn’t finished, as he ended up scoring 14 points in the first half, so Hiwassee Dam led 31-28 at halftime.
Davis’ scoring show didn’t end in the first half, as he popped for 16 more in the second half and ended the night with 31 points. Hiwassee Dam increased its lead to nine by the end of the third period, when the Eagles led 45-36. Aiden Bennett scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth period to close the deal.
Davis led all scorers with 31 points, while Aiden Bennet had 13 and
Jonah Hamby had 10 points to round out the Eagles in double figures. Copper Basin also had three players in double digits; Talon Smith had 15 points, while Justin Hamby had 11 and Reese Parris 10.