In a busy week for the Hiwassee Dam varsity basketball teams, the Lady Eagles were the only ones to pick up a win.
They did so in the first game of the week when they defeated Robbinsville on the road. Later in the week, both teams fell on the road to Polk County, Tenn., and Cherokee.
Boys fall to Knights
The Eagles got their week off on the wrong foot by falling to Robbinsville 66-32. They traveled to Robbinsville to face the Knights in Hiwassee Dam’s first game of 2026 on Jan. 6.
The Knight took an early lead with 26 points in the opening quarter while the Eagles scored 14. Then the Knights began to pull away, holding the Eagles to single digits the remaining three quarters.
With 15 more points in the second quarter, the Knights led 31-18 at halftime. Robbinsville scored 20 points in the third quarter and five more in the fourth to win the game for the Eagles’ second straight loss to a Big Smoky Mountain Conference team.
Girls win close game
With a 32-point second half, the Lady Eagles defeated Robbinsville 53-50. Despite trailing at halftime, Hiwassee Dam started the week with a win on Jan. 6.
The Lady Eagles took a slim lead early with 12 points in the opening quarter, while the Lady Black Knights scored 10. The Lady Knights battled back in the second quarter to take a 28-21 into halftime.
The Lady Eagles battled back in the third quarter with 19 points led by Brooklyn Orton with seven of those points. The Eagles still trailed by one point heading into the final quarter. Hiwassee Dam outscored Robbinsville 13-9 in the fourth quarter to secure the win.
Brinkley Payne led the Lady Eagles with 28 points. Abby Harris was also in double digits with 11 points.
Girls fall to Polk
Polk County took an early lead, and Hiwassee Dam wasn’t able to catch them, as the Lady Eagles fell 67-50 on Thursday.
Polk County got out to a 19-6 lead through the first quarter to pull away early in the game. Despite outscoring Polk County in the second quarter, the Lady Eagles trailed 30-22 at halftime.
Polk County continued to pull away in the second half with 16 points in the third quarter and 21 points in the fourth to close out the game.
Despite the loss, three Lady Eagles were in double-digits Thursday night. Orton had 16 points, Harris had 15 and Payne had 12.
Leah Taylor had five points with three coming from the free-throw line. Kinley Stiles had two points coming on a fourth-quarter field goal.
Boys fall to Cherokee
Coming into the game, the Braves had won two big games, and Friday they made it three straight wins as they defeated the Eagles 94-24. They battled for four quarters, but the Braves came out on top to wrap up the week.
Girls lose to Braves
The Lady Eagles were back on the road Friday night against the defending 1A state champions, Cherokee. After a high-scoring first quarter, the Lady Braves won 89-30.
With 38 points in the first quarter, the Cherokee took a huge lead into the second quarter.After adding 19 more points, Cherokee led 57-15 at halftime.
In the third quarter, the Lady Braves added 17 more points with 15 more in the fourth quarter to win the game 89-30.
Two Lady Eagles were in double-digit points Friday night. Harris led the team with 17, while Payne had 11 and Orton added two points.
Up next
Hiwassee Dam will host homecoming Friday night, when the Eagles take on Summit Charter.
The boys will play first at 6 p.m., followed by the girls game.
The homecoming queen will be announced at halftime of the boys game.
The Eagles will then hit the road Tuesday to face Blue Ridge Early College. The girls will play at 6 p.m., followed by the boys game.