Bryson City – Andrews fell short in its final regular-season game, losing to Swain County 51-47 on Feb. 13.
The Lady Wildcats (10-13) started strong, as Kylie Donaldson came out on fire, hitting two 3-point shots and a pair of field goals in the first period to give Andrews a 17-15 lead. Marlene Hicks of Swain (11-13) hit for 10 of the Lady Devils’ points, as her and Donaldson were in a scoring battle all game.
When Donaldson got into foul trouble early and had to sit out most of the second period, Hicks took advantage of her absence, scoring seven more points to tie the score 26-26 at halftime. Hannah Talkington kept Andrews in the game by scoring five of her 12 points in the second frame.
The Lady Cats cranked it up again in the third quarter when Donaldson returned to the lineup, and Hannah Talkington led the effort to give the Cats a four-point lead going into the final stanza. Donaldson accounted for five of Andrews’ 12 points in the third. Talkington added four and Kinleigh Queen hit for three points set up the final period with Andrews leading 38-34.
However, the Lady Cats couldn’t close the deal in the fourth period. Swain outscored the Lady Cats 17-9, as Andrews could only manage three field goals and three shots from the charity stripe in the fourth. Hicks scored six points on her own, while her teammates chimed in with 11 more to give the Lady Devils the win.
The Lady Cats had two players in double figures, Donaldson with 18 and Talkington with 12. Hicks led all scorers with 23 points.