Hayesville Yellow Jackets move on to third round

Hayesville Basketball, Sports, TeamFYNSports
Hayesville

The Hayesville Yellow Jackets hosted the Pine Lake Prep Pride on Tuesday night. It had all the makings of a great playoff matchup with both teams capable of winning the game. It was a four quarter battle for sure with both teams trading leads early in the game. Yet like they have so many times this year Hayesville pulled away at the end of the third quarter. They had a strong fourth quarter winning the game 69-52.

 

In the first quarter Hayesville went to star sophomore Jake McTaggart early with him scoring eight points making two threes in the quarter. Junior Blake McClure made several big plays in the quarter as well taking two charges. This not only got a Pine Lake Prep starter in foul trouble but gave Hayesville two extra possessions. All this led to Hayesville finishing the quarter leading 16-12.

 

In the second quarter the Yellow Jacket offense stalled. They only scored eight points in the quarter allowing Pine Lake to take a lead into halftime. Pine Lake led 27-24 at the half, with Hayesville knowing they needed to start shooting the ball better. It was a good thing McTaggart was shooting it well because he led the Jackets in scoring in the quarter once again. In fact he had all eight of the team’s second quarter points.

 

After half Hayesville surprised Pine Lake a little bit coming out in a full court press forcing them into many turnovers in the second half. Hayesville would not let off the press the entire second half really affecting the offensive efficiency of Pine Lake. Kolbe Ashe had a tough night from the floor but a perfect night from the free throw line. In the third quarter he had six points all from the free throw line. Hayesville finished the quarter leading 43-37 looking like they had all the momentum coming into the fourth quarter.

 

In the fourth quarter Hayesvilles press gave Pine Lake fits, with Pine Lake trying half court pressure themselves. The Yellow Jackets ate up the pressure though continually finding open teammates for easy layups taking away any chance for Pine Lake to come back. 

 

Keys to the game were Hayesvilles free throw shooting. The Yellow Jackets were a perfect 22-22 from the free throw line on the night. When Pine Lake tried fouling at the end of the game to come back in hopes Hayesville would miss, the Jackets were perfect. Shooting perfect from the free throw is a great way to win playoff games. 

 

Secondly Blake McClure had a career night. No not in points or rebounds but in one of the most underrated statistics in all of sports taking charges. Taking a charge does a lot, it gives your team a possession, but is better than a steal because it gives a foul to the opposing team. Blake McClure took SEVEN charges on the night. Giving his team seven extra possessions and causing Pine Lake to have foul trouble. 

 

Yellow Jacket leaders for the night:

Jake McTaggart 28 points

Kolbe Ashe 14 points, 14-14 FT

Hayden McClure 12 points

Blake McClure 7 points, 7 charges taken

 

The Hayesville Yellow Jackets will now move on to the third round of the NCHSAA playoffs. They will have to leave the comforts of home traveling to Chatham Charter on Saturday for a 6:00 PM game.

To get updates or see how the Yellow Jackets have done tune in to all the latest coverage FYN sports on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and at https://claync.fetchyournews.com/category/teamfynsports

Hayesville Lady Yellow Jacket playoff round two preview

Hayesville Basketball, Sports, TeamFYNSports
Hayesville

The 15th seeded Hayesville Lady Yellow Jackets travel to take on the 2nd seeded Alleghany Lady Trojans tonight. This is a 2nd round matchup in the NCHSAA playoffs, with 32 teams left playing in the entire 1A classification. Hayesville is coming off a big first round win that was an absolute battle for four quarters. Expect much of the same tonight, at this point in the year every team left is solid.

Hayesville

Playoff Bracket

The Lady Yellow Jackets have had games this year where they have competed with some of the best teams in the state. No doubt playing in what many believe to be the best 1A girls conference in the state prepares them for games like this. First the Lady Yellow Jackets have to endure a five plus hour bus ride. If they can not let that affect them too much they will have a great chance at an upset.

 

In talks with head coach Chad McClure he felt good about his team’s chances to pull the upset. Here is his exclusive round 2 preview interview.

 

  1. Big win over Polk Co. any thoughts on your teams first round win?

 

We didn’t play our best game but played well enough to win.  This team has been scrappy all year and we had some kids step up.  Polk did a good job shutting down our inside game. Lizzy and Annie really gave us a boost when we needed it.

 

  1. What do you know about Alleghany, your second round opponent?

 

They are solid, won 25 games, and seem to be pretty balanced as 4 players average double figures. 

 

  1. How to quick turnarounds only 1 day between games change your ability to get ready for games?

 

It is tough because you try to get info quickly to prepare your team as much as possible but in this time of the year you just fine tune your system and stay polished on skills

 

  1. What does your team need to do to win and advance on Thursday?

 

First we have to handle the long road trip.  We will have to handle the environment. Every team left is good. We just have to be better for 32 minutes.

 

The Alleghany Lady Trojans are a very experienced team with five of their top six scorers being seniors. In talks with their coach this is a year that her team has been building for with six seniors and three juniors on the team. They have three players shooting over 50% from the three point line. The Lady Yellow Jackets will need to slow down their shooting and pull down rebounds to keep them from getting second chance points.

 

The Lady Yellow Jackets got a season best performance out of Lizzy Brusini on Tuesday night. Brusini has not been a top scorer for the Lady Yellow Jackets throughout the year. Yet her season best performance led the way for the win on Tuesday. Who might step up tonight for Hayesville? That is yet to be determined but if the Lady Yellow Jackets can get players to continually step up in big games don’t be surprised if they make a playoff run.

To get updates or see how the Yellow Jackets have done tune in to all the latest coverage FYN sports on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and at https://claync.fetchyournews.com/category/teamfynsports

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