Hiwassee Dam – It took some time to get going, but by the second half, Hiwassee Dam had cracked Blue Ridge Early College’s defense.
The Lady Bobcats had gone to a box-and-one on Lady Eagles point guard Kiera Taylor, and occasionally double-teamed her Friday. That opened up more looks inside, and freshman Olivia McNabb capitalized. After scoring just 23 points in the previous three games, McNabb poured in a 27 in a 64-48 win over Blue Ridge.
After defeating Nantahala 64-13 on Dec. 14, Hiwassee Dam (4-5 overall) is off to a 2-0 start in Little Smoky Mountain Conference play. They also lost to Hayesville, 52-42, on Dec. 13 in non-conference action.
“The confidence is getting there, but I’m still very nervous when I’m out there,” McNabb said. “I’ve been playing for a long time and everything but it still just gets to me. But then I keep going and the nerves just kind of go away.”
After starting the game with more of a man-to-man offense, head coach Avery Cutshaw said his team went to more of a “33” look on offense, which gives the team both a high and low post option and works well against a zone.
“That really helped because it spreads the floor a little more,” Cutshaw said. “And it opens up the post a little more.”
A similar adjustment happened on defense. After starting the game in a man-to-man look, the Lady Eagles switched to a 1-3-1 zone that allowed them to get back into the game. Blue Ridge was able to get some easy penetration against Hiwassee Dam’s man-to-man defense, and led 14-5 at the end of the first quarter.
The zone flipped the script in the second quarter, as the Eagles outscored the Lady Bobcats 16-4 and led 21-18 at halftime. The zone flustered Blue Ridge (3-5, 0-2), and the lead would’ve been greater if Hiwassee Dam shot better than three for 14 from the foul line in the second quarter.
“That threw a kink in their offense and we played pretty good out of our 1-3-1 zone,” Cutshaw said. “They were making cross-court passes and creating a few turnovers and we stopped the dribble penetration.”
With a renewed emphasis on getting the ball inside, the Lady Eagles took control of the game in the third quarter. A 12-6 run pushed the lead to 35-24, though back-to-back threes by the Lady Bobcats’ Mahalah Stewart cut the lead to five. However, Hiwassee Dam answered back with a 12-3 run to put the game out of reach. The Lady Eagles led by as many as 23 points in the fourth quarter.
Hiwassee Dam returned to the court against Highlands on Monday, the results of which were not available un until after this week’s edition of the Cherokee Scout went to press. Next week, the Eagles will take part in the Swain County Christmas Tournament.