Hiwassee Dam – The No. 8 seed Hiwassee Dam girls basketball team defeated No. 9 seed Christ the King Crusaders 64-40 on Friday to advance into the third round of the 1A state playoffs.
The Lady Eagles started the game strong and maintained momentum throughout. They kicked off the game by taking a nine-point lead to end the first quarter, then doubled their points in the second quarter to take a 30-12 lead into halftime.
In the first half, Hiwassee Dam dominated on both ends of the court. The Lady Eagles were able to pick up rebounds and get steals that they quickly converted into points and convert fouls into points to help pad their lead.
Hiwassee Dam continued its strong play into the second half. The Lady Eagles scored 14 points in the third quarter, despite allowing Christ the King to score 12.
In the fourth quarter, Hiwassee Dam extended its lead to 24 points by continuing to play well on both ends of the court. The Lady Eagles converted on multiple fast breaks to build a big lead and seal their trip to round three.
With every point scored, fans in The Nest were loud. The student section rambunctiously cheered throughout the game and greeted the team with excitement after their win.
Olivia McNabb led the Lady Eagles with 20 points. Brinkley Payne and Brooklyn McNabb were also in double figures with 15 and 11 points, respectively. The Lady Eagles headed to Burnsville to take on the top seeded Mountain Heritage Cougars after the Cherokee Scout’s press deadline Tuesday afternoon.
Lady Eagles head coach David Payne said his team played a solid game against Christ the King.
“We got a good early start on them. Our intensity was up defensively in the first half and we held them to 12 points and set the tone. They made a run on us there in the second half, and we withstood that and settled back in and was able to match them score-wise,” he said.
“So I’m super proud of our defensive effort. Offensively, I felt like we did a good job moving the ball and finding the open person.”
Payne said he is happy to be advancing and is proud of their team for playing at a high level, even though their bench does not go deep. He added that the players are locked in and ready to take on their third-round opponent.
He also spoke on the impact of the energetic fans and student section at the games, saying, “It’s big. Our girls get going a lot better when our kids are into it like they have been the last several ball games. We’ve got a good, close knit school and our kids come and they support it.
“We don’t have many, but what we do have are very supportive of one another. It’s a testament to that kind of fan base and student body and school atmosphere community that you thrive off of.”
To get into the second round, Hiwassee Dam defeated Mitchell 69-54 in the first round of the 1A state playoffs on Feb. 27.
The Lady Eagles got out to an early lead with help from Brooklyn Hyde hitting two 3-pointers that got fans at The Nest on their feet. Olivia McNabb scored a midrange fadeaway to cap off a 20-point first quarter.
In the second quarter, Mitchell was able to cut into Hiwassee Dam’s lead to only trail by four points heading into halftime.
In the second half, the Lady Eagles were able to maintain their lead, but it was tight. Olivia McNabb had multiple big blocks in the third quarter that were able to help them maintain the lead and also put points on the board. They took a 42-37 lead into the final quarter as the game heated up.
A huge 27-point fourth quarter sealed the deal for the Lady Eagles. In the final minutes, Mitchell began to foul, which only let Hiwassee Dam pull away for the win.
Brinkley Payne led the Lady Eagles with 20 points. Olivia McNabb and Brooklyn Hyde both had 18 points. Olivia McNabb made eight free throws with six of those being in the fourth quarter.
After that game, Payne said they played well despite experiencing some early pressure from Mitchell.
“I thought at times we kind of got lost in what we were trying to do offensively, but I think they contributed to that with their pressure. They went man on us and we kind of lost our bearings a little bit,” he said.
“We settled back in there and got some big scores in crucial times in the second half, and I think that was probably the difference in stretching it out there at the end a little bit and getting a little bit of a lead.”
Payne mentioned players that stood out, but also explained that anyone can step up and help the team win.
“We’ve had the same approach all year, whoever steps up that given night. Of course, Olivia [McNabb] is going to score good for us, I think Brinkley [Payne] had a pretty good ball game, Brooklyn [Hyde] handled the ball well. We have a lot of key factors and everybody just keeps digging and if it’s your turn, it’s your turn,” said Payne.
In the final minutes of the game, prior to the Lady Eagles pulling away with the lead, Payne’s message to the team was, “We just kept shortening the game. We started the night saying ‘let’s work for 32 minutes.’ Then coming in at halftime, ‘let’s win 16 minutes.’ Then last quarter, ‘let’s win this quarter.’ Then four minutes were on the clock and I said, ‘OK, you have to battle for four minutes.’
“The team that decides to battle harder for that four minutes will probably come out in the end. We got some crucial steals down here that led to some easy buckets and that was able to separate that because we did do a better job defensively there for three or four possessions in a row.”
Boys basketball team falls
In the first round of the 1A state playoffs, the Hiwassee Dam boys basketball team fell to Mountain Island Charter 82-73 on Feb. 27.
After a slow start for the Eagles, Jonah Hamby dropped a 3-pointer and The Nest erupted. Both teams battled in a back and forth first quarter. The Eagles made multiple 3-pointers and with each, the fans seemed to cheer louder. Hiwassee Dam ended the first quarter leading by four points after late 3-pointers from Hamby and Clay Davis. The game continued to be back and forth with each time matching each other each trip down the court.
Mountain Island Charter took a 45-42 lead into halftime after battling in the final minutes of the first half.
Mountain Island began to stretch out their lead early in the second half, but the Eagle fought to keep it within a few points. The Eagles trailed by three points heading into the final quarter. The shots were not falling for the Eagles as the clock ticked down.
Mountain Island took advantage and got out to a 14-point lead in the final two minutes. They passed the ball around to kill time as the Eagles’ season came to an end. The Eagles fought hard and were not out of the game despite losing by nine points.
Jonah Hamby led the Eagles with 26 points, including four 3-pointers. Clay Davis also broke the 20-point barrier with 22 points, hitting 9-10 free throws.
Head coach Mark Raper said the Eagles played well despite the loss.
“We played as hard as we played all year. It was two good teams, and they just made a few more plays than we did,” he said.
Raper said everyone on the team played well and fought hard throughout the game.
“They all played pretty good. Jonah [Hamby] played really good the first half, Clay [Davis] played good the second half. It was just a battle,” he said.
“I think we got a little tired and they were a lot deeper than we were, but I can’t say anything negative about how we played. They were just a little bit stronger than we were.”
After the game, Raper’s message to the team was, “I told them that I was proud of them. With how our season started with a few things that happened and to finish the last 10 or 12 games as good as we did, I was proud of the effort.”