BY ALLEN LAMOUNTAIN

CORRESPONDENT

Hampton couldn’t hold an eight point lead in the fourth quarter as Unaka rallied for a 42-39 Watauga Valley Conference victory on Tuesday at Snavely gym.

“We have been in some games where we couldn’t get over the hump,” said Lady Rangers coach Kenneth Chambers. “We have been talking to the girls about finishing and playing four quarters. Hampton will bring out the best in you, they are a good team. All the teams in our conference are good, but to beat Hampton is special.”

Hampton (10-10, 3-3 WVC) got the better of the first period out scoring Unaka seven to four in the opening period with junior Alexus Grubbs scoring all seven points for the Lady Bulldogs. Both teams had turnover troubles in the first half with each squad turning it over 11 times, with Unaka collecting five steals.

Grubbs scored 12 of her game high 14 points in the first half.

Unaka (5-13, 2-4 WVC) began a comeback in the second period after a slow first quarter with freshman Sarah Tipton knocking down a three pointer.

The Lady Rangers got a pair of trey’s from senior guard Cheyenne Drew including a buzzer beater that brought the Rangers to within 19-18 at the half after trailing by as many as eight.

“Coach told me to step back and have confidence in my shot,” Drew said. “One major thing was we kept talking and playing on defense. We played as a team and kept our composure.”

Unaka took a short lived lead early in the third period on a pair of free throws from Hannah Tipton but Shyanne Tuelle answered for the ‘Dogs with a deuce. The lead continued to swing back and forth for two possessions until Hampton got back to back two pointers from Kim Swearingen and Tatum Street to take a 27-23 lead with 2:23 left in the stanza.

A trey from senior guard Alexis Bowers staked the ‘Dogs to a 30-23 advantage before a deuce from Renya Austin closed Unaka to within 30-25. Bowers hit another trey from the corner to make it a 33-25 game with 18 seconds remaining in the period.

The Rangers closed to within two on back to back triples by Kaitlyn Burrow and Drew to make it a 33-31 contest. A trey from Tipton and a deuce from Drew gave Unaka a 36-35 lead at the 4:44 mark of regulation.

In the final period Unaka hit three trey’s while the ‘Dogs went cold missing on five attempts from long range as the Rangers whittled away the lead.  A trey by Tipton gave Unaka its first lead of the half at 36-35 but Hampton scored the next four points for a 39-36 advantage.

Buckets from Austin and Katlyn Weaver gave Unaka a 40-37 lead they never relinquished. Drew led Unaka with 11 points with Burrow chipping in with 10.

BOX SCORE

GIRLS

Hampton   7  12 14   6 – 39

Unaka       4  14   7 17 – 42

Hampton (39)

Swearingen 4, Street 4, Grubbs 14, Tuelle 5, Garland 2, Bowers 10.

Unaka (42)

S.Tipton 3, H.Tipton 9, Drew 11, Burrow 10, Weaver 4, Wright 1, Austin 4.

3-point goals: H 4 (Bowers 2, Grubbs 1, Tuelle 1), U 7 (Drew 3, Burrow 2, S. Tipton 1, H. Tipton 1)

 

BOYS

Hampton 79

Unaka      37

The Rangers (4-17, 0-6) could not contain the three point shooting of senior wing Cheyenne Camillo as Hampton took a 42-point victory over Unaka.  Camillo nailed five triples in the first half as the Bulldogs raced to a 47-17 halftime advantage and were never threatened.

The Rangers battled in the third period but were able to shave just three points off the Hampton lead as the ‘Dogs (16-7, 4-2) went into the fourth quarter with a 59-31 lead.

Hampton extended it’s lead to 70-33 with 5:17 remaining on two buckets from sophomore Charlie Butler, who also tossed in a trey in the run.

“Charlie is a good player, he came off the bench and gave us some good minutes,” said Bulldogs coach Ned Smith. “I thought the kids played hard tonight, we had a lot of kick outs and 22 assists. You have to win some games on the road down the stretch in this conference.

“Cheyenne came out on fire and gave us a big lift.”

Camillo and Unaka’s Kyler Lewis each finished with a game high 15 points.

BOYS

Hampton  24 23 12 20 – 79

Unaka         9   8 14  6 – 37

Hampton (79)

Jones 10, Valentine 6, Camillo 15, Hutchinson 8, Wiltshire 8, Norris 3, McClain 9, Butler 12, Lyons 5, Lunsford 1, Crumley 2.

Unaka (37)

Searfoss 6, Lewis 15, Guinn 2, Parlier 6, Overdorf 6, Pierce 2.

3-point goals: H 8 (Camillo 5, Butler 2, McClain 1), U 2 (Searfoss 1, Lewis 1)