Hiwassee Dam – The Hiwassee Dam girls basketball team got another shot at Highlands in the Little Smoky Mountain Conference tournament final and, just like the first two matchups, the Lady Highlanders came out on top, 55-32.
On a night where the Lady Eagles (11-13 overall) struggled to score, junior Kiera Taylor led the way with 10 points, while freshman Olivia McNabb finished with seven. In the semifinals against Blue Ridge Early College (8-13), Taylor had 25 while McNabb had 21.
In the semifinals against the Lady Bobcats, Hiwassee Dam was able to jump out to an early lead before holding off a Blue Ridge rally and pulling away for a 68-50 win. The Lady Highlanders (16-9) did the same thing to the Lady Eagles in the tournament final.
After Taylor opened the scoring with a jumper, Highlands scored eight straight points and never trailed again. A 3-point shot by Bella Wilson pushed the Lady Highlanders lead out to 15-5, and they led by double digits for the rest of the game, except for a few minutes early in the second quarter.
Hiwassee Dam scored six straight points to cut the lead to 33-23 at halftime, but Highlands responded in the third quarter to put the game away. The Lady Eagles pushed the tempo against Blue Ridge in the semifinals, and the Highlanders were able to do the same thing to Hiwassee Dam. The pace of the game caught up to the Lady Eagles in the second half, as Highlands outscored them 14-2 in the third quarter to put the game out of reach.
Both teams met up again at Highlands in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association class 1A playoffs Tuesday night. The game took place after this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press.