Eagles start their season against Towns County, Ga.
Hiwassee Dam – The Hiwassee Dam basketball teams kicked off their 2024-25 season with a scrimmage at home against Town County, Ga. It was a packed house in Hiwassee Dam Friday night as Eagles fans were excited that basketball was back.
The Lady Eagles got the evening started with a 58-25 win over the Lady Indians on Nov. 8.
Olivia McNabb scored the Lady Eagles’ first points of the game on a layup, then she made another layup to tie the game at five points. The Lady Eagles then took the lead and never looked back.
The Lady Eagles began to pull away in the second quarter as they took a 10-point lead with a little over three minutes left in the quarter. They maintained that lead and it only grew as the game went on. The Lady Eagles made gritty baskets in the paint to take a 25-16 lead into halftime.
They came out of the half and kept the ball rolling. Both teams scored to start the third quarter. Towns County called a timeout with the Lady Eagles leading by 13 points. The Lady Eagles took a 38-23 lead into the fourth quarter after their second 13-point frame.
They kept it going in the fourth quarter as they dropped 20 points and only allowed Towns to score two points to win the game 58-25.
Olivia McNabb, who broke the 1,000-point mark in her high school career last season, scored 20 points on Friday night. Brinkley Payne scored 15 points. McNabb and Payne were the only Lady Eagles with double digit points.
After the game, Lady Eagles head coach David Payne said that the team played well in their season-opening scrimmage.
“It look us a little while to get a second breath there and catch our second wind. That game scheme, there’s nothing like it, you just have to play and get up and down the floor and try to catch up. We haven’t been full court hardly any. [Thursday] was the first day we had been full court,” Payne said. “I was pleased with out effort and pleased with moving the ball. I thought we moved the ball and spaced the floor pretty well. If we can do those things, then we’ll provide opportunities for ourself.”
Payne also said that after the scrimmage, he is confident in his team’s execution in the game.
The Eagles boys varsity team closed out the evening with a 73-54 loss to the Indians.
The Indians got out to an early lead and were able to maintain it throughout the game.
Both teams scored points early in the first quarter, but Town County was able to control the ball and pick up rebounds to build an early 16-7 lead in the first quarter.
Hiwassee Dam had multiple giveaways early in the second quarter that the Indians were able to convert into points to extend their lead. As the second quarter inched toward halftime, the Indians continued to score and build on their lead. The Eagles scored gritty points in the paint to stay in the game. Town County took a 39-23 lead into halftime.
Towns County started the second half with five straight points and multiple steals, which prompted the Eagles to take an early timeout. The Eagles got on the board with two made free throws from Aiden Bennett. They were able to score late in the third quarter, but the Indians started to pull away with the lead.
The Indians continued to get steals to grow their lead. Halfway through the quarter, the Eagles were outscoring the Indians, but the Indians made late points to get the 73-54 win.
Bennett led the Eagles with 20 point and was the only Eagle with double digit points. Braiden Ledford had nine points and Jonah Dockery had eight points in their scrimmage Friday night against the Indians.
Eagles head coach Mark Raper said after the game in the scrimmage it showed that only a few players on the team had varsity experience, but that this game was a learning experience for the whole team.
“Overall, I was proud of our effort, but we have a lot of stuff to work on. The biggest thing is getting used to a varsity level game and I think once we get used to varsity level speed and physicality, we’ll be a pretty solid team,” Raper said.
The Eagles boys and girls basketball teams will kick off their regular season on Friday when they travel to Cashiers to take on Summit Charter. The girls tip-off at 6 p.m. and the boys will tip-off at 7:30 p.m.