Hayesville Lady Yellow Jacket playoff round two preview
Hayesville Basketball, Sports, TeamFYNSports February 27, 2020
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.
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- 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
Hayesville Yellow Jackets advance to second round
Hayesville Basketball, Sports, TeamFYNSports February 26, 2020
The Hayesville Yellow Jackets hosted the Swain Co. Maroon Devils in the first round of the NCHSAA state playoffs Tuesday night. Hayesville the 5 seed had the home court advantage over the 28 seed Swain Co. Yet with this being the fourth meeting of the year between the two teams it had the potential for an interesting matchup. Hayesville was able to control the game though and dictate the style of play. This led to them beating Swain for the fourth time this year winning 68-48.
Junior Brady Shook finishes through contact for a tough two points.
In the first quarter it was back and forth with Hayesville struggling to hit shots. Foul trouble was a big issue for the Yellow Jackets as well. Swain held a lead for part of the first quarter yet thanks to a few late buckets Hayesville ending the first quarter leading 17-11. The second quarter set up to be interesting, Hayesville star point guard sophomore Kolbe Ashe picked up a second foul towards the end of the quarter.
Ashe did not play at all in the second quarter because of it and things set up well for Swain to possibly take control. Yet Hayesville battled through the adversity and it wasn’t always pretty but they managed to keep their lead. In fact thanks to a buzzer beating post move from Sophomore Jake McTaggart Hayesville increased their lead to eight to close the half. With Hayesville escaping the second quarter with a 31-23 lead knowing they would get both Ashe and senior Mark Cothren back in the second half from foul trouble had to feel good going into the break.
In the third quarter with their conductor back in Ashe, Hayesville started to take control. They were able to dictate the pace and were giving nothing easy to the Maroon Devils. Hayesville played with poise and consistency increasing their third quarter lead out to up 11. They got a great night out of Junior Hayden McClure who was cutting through defense all night. Every time you looked up he would be finishing another tough basket at the rim.
Coming into the fourth quarter Hayesville while not having a huge lead knew the win would be theirs. It never felt in danger and Swain could never cut into it enough to give themselves a chance. Hayesville put the final nail in the coffin with a mid fourth quarter run stretching their lead out 20. The game finished Hayesville winning 68-48 moving onto the second round of the playoffs.
Junior Hayden McClure with a strong finish for 2 of his 16 points.
Hayesville leaders for the night:
Jake McTaggart 18 points
Hayden McClure 16 points
Kolbe Ashe 12 points
Brady Shook 10 points
Hayesville will next play in the 2nd round of the NCHSAA state playoffs hosting Pine Lake Prep at home on Thursday time TBA.
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 Jackets survive and advance
Hayesville Basketball, Sports, TeamFYNSports February 26, 2020
The Hayesville Lady Yellow Jackets hosted the Polk Co. Lady Wolverines in the first round of the NCHSAA state playoffs Tuesday night. Hayesville the 15 seed having home court advantage over Polk Co. the 18 seed. This game had all the makings of a great playoff matchup. The game did not disappoint with it being a four quarter battle that Hayesville pulled out 45 to 43 to move on to the second round.
Junior Lizzy Brusini makes a three pointer.
In the first quarter Polk Co. got off to a good start and garnered an early lead. The Lady Yellow Jackets battled back though and were able to grind out a three point lead to end the quarter.
In the second quarter it was a low scoring affair with both teams playing great defense. It wasn’t that either team was missing good shots, it was that neither team was allowing good looks. The defense was stifling with each team’s few points coming on either fast breaks or offensive rebounds. Regardless the Lady Yellow Jackets were able to keep their lead despite Polk Co. outscoring them by one point in the quarter. This gave them a lead 18-16 going into the Halftime break.
In the third quarter Hayesville started to press the Lady Wolverines and got some great results. The Lady Yellow Jackets were able to force turnovers and get some easy baskets. It was a battle though and a very physical game. The third quarter ended with Hayesville leading 28-23.
In the fourth quarter the Lady Yellow Jackets press led to their best offensive quarter. They were able to increase their lead all the way up to nine points. Yet in the waning minutes of the game Polk Co. fought back and got it within a one possession game. Even through some mistakes Hayesville went five for six down the stretch from the free throw line. It looked like the game was about to slip away but because of made free throws for Hayesville and missed free throws for Polk Co. Hayesville was able to survive and advance.
Senior Annie Brooks makes a late game free throw.
Hayesville leaders for the night:
Lizzy Brusini 17 points
Annie Brooks 12 points 6-6 FT
Hayesville will next play in the 2nd round of the NCHSAA state playoffs at Alleghany on Thursday time TBA.
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