Hiwassee Dam – It was a winning week for the Eagles, as they swept Nantahala and Rosman.
With wins over Nantahala, the Hiwassee Dam varsity basketball teams started Little Smoky Mountain Conference play with a win.
Boys
The Eagles started conference play with a win as they defeated Nantahala 66-28. They started with 16 points in the first quarter, but Nantahala was not far behind with 10.
In the second quarter, the Eagles pulled away after scoring 21 points and holding the Hawks to four. The Eagles headed into halftime leading 37-14 and continued to extend their lead in the second half.
They had another 21-point quarter in the third, followed up with eight more points in the fourth to win.
The Eagles were led by Jonah Mockery with 23 points. Jimmy Kelly was also in double digits with 13 points.
The Hawks were led by Sam Bateman with 12 points. Landon Neal was also in double digits with 10 points.
On Friday, Hiwassee Dam the week by defeating Rosman on the road. The Eagles held Rosman to single digits in the first three quarters en route to winning 68-39.
The Eagles soared in the first half with 24 points in the first quarter, then 20 more in the second to lead 44-17 at halftime.
They added 12 more points in the third and fourth quarters to win. Rosman put up a fight late with 13 points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to overtake the Eagles.
Girls
The Lady Eagles kicked off their week on Dec. 8 by hosting their first Little Smoky Mountain Conference opponent of the season. The Nantahala Lady Hawks came to The Nest in Hiwassee Dam to face off against the Lady Eagles, who picked up a 57-29 win.
Early in the game, Brinkley Payne made a layup. After scoring, officials called a timeout and honored her for reaching the 1,000-point milestone in her high school career.
After the game, Lady Eagles head coach David Payne – who is also Brinkley’s father – said, “As a coach, anytime you have a player that’s able to achieve that milestone it’s obviously special, because not many people are able to do that.”
“It’s a great dad moment, as far as seeing her accomplish something that she’s worked hard at and to be able to come to fruition … getting that 1,000 points is big. I know she appreciates all her teammates that’s made that possible.
“It’s what we talked about, it doesn’t happen by yourself, so surrounded by good teammates is good. Just proud of her being able to accomplish it.”
The Lady Eagles started the game with 13 unanswered points before Delaney McLean hit a 3-pointer. Her bucket from beyond the arch was the Lady Hawks’ only points in the first quarter as Hiwassee Dam led 19-3 heading into the second.
It was another big scoring quarter for the Lady Eagles, as they took a 31-13 lead to halftime. Nantahala outscored the Lady Eagles in the third quarter, but still trailed 40-26 heading into the fourth.
The Lady Eagles dropped 17 points in the fourth quarter en route to their win.
Leah Taylor led the Lady Eagles with 13 points. Payne was also in double digits with 12.
The Lady Hawks were led by McLean with 14 points. Zoey Passmore had seven points and Abby Sutton added six.
The Lady Eagles wrapped up the week with a 60-24 win over Rosman on Friday night.
They jumped out to a huge first half lead with 24 points in the first quarter, followed by 16 more points in the second quarter. The Lady Eagles led 40-16 at halftime.
In the second half, the Lady Eagles dropped 16 more points in the third quarter to lead 56-21 heading into the final frame. They outscored Rosman for a fourth straight quarter to win.
The Lady Eagles were led by Payne with 23 points Friday night. Orton and Harris were also in double digits with 12 points each.
Up next
Before they have time off for winter break, the Eagles will travel to in-county rivals Murphy on Thursday. The girls are set to start at 6:30 p.m., while the boys will play right after.