BY ALLEN LAMOUNTAIN

CORRESPONDENT

Hampton found the range early on Friday night at Van Huss / White gymnasium and the result was a Watauga Valley Conference 53-30 victory over Unaka.

The Lady Bulldogs (13-10, 6-3 WVC) hit four long shots in the first period to take a 16-6 lead, and the Hampton defense forced 10 first half Lady Ranger turnovers and had 19 in all.

“We seemed to be a little more focused than we were up there,” Lady Bulldogs head coach Bud Hazelwood said.  “We played well and guarded them better. It was a tremendous effort, especially early in the game.

“Unaka took it to us up there and Kenneth Chambers does a good job of coaching them.”

With the win, Hampton reversed an early upset loss in Stoney Creek and earned a conference split with Unaka (7-15, 2-6).

Freshman guard Shyanne Tuelle had 12 in the first half as the ‘Dogs raced to a 34-12 lead at the break. Alexus Grubbs added 10 first half points to the Hampton ledger.

Grubbs hit a three to open the second half and a pair of free throws as the ‘Dogs opened up a 40-14 lead at the 3:25 mark. She finished with a game high 19 points while Tuelle finished with 12.

“The difference was defense tonight,” Grubbs said. “Up there we kind of quit after we got a lead. Tonight we were more efficient. We kept up our tempo and hitting three’s early was a confidence booster for the whole team.”

For Unaka, junior post Sierra Wright and freshman Katlyn Weaver each had a team high six points.

BOYS

Hampton    81

Unaka        53

Senior wing Stanley Valentine put on a high flying circus act in the first half with a pair of breakaway slam dunks that ignited Hampton’s easy win. Valentine scored 16 first half points.

Hampton (19-7, 7-2) took a 40-19 lead into the break as three players – Valentine, Coby Jones (11) and Cheyenne Camillo (10) – scored in double figures for the Bulldogs in the first half. Camillo was honored before the game with a game ball for reaching his 1,000^thcareer point at Hampton.

“Cheyenne is a great shooter,” Bulldogs head coach Ned Smith said.  “He works real hard at it and it’s a great milestone for him. We did a good job tonight as a team, turning defense into offense with good transition baskets. We are really coming along with sharing the ball. That part of our game has come along real well.

“We got a lot of kids into the game. They really push our starters and we’ll need them down the stretch if we get injuries or foul trouble. It’s good to be able to get them minutes.”

Hampton led 62-34 at the end of three quarters with Camillo knocking down four triples in the contest and scoring 16 points to tie Valentine for team high.

“Great defensive efforts get the team fired up,” Camillo said. “The way we pass the ball makes the whole team better and we had 24 assists tonight. That is something coach Smith has stressed this year and we have bought into it.”

Joe Searfoss and Kyler Lewis each had a game high 19 points for the Rangers.

 

GIRLS

Hampton 53-30

Unaka (30)

S.Tipton 2, H.Tipton 2, Garland 2, Doss 5, Drew 3, Covarrubias 2, Weaver 6, Wright 6, Austin 2.

Hampton (53)

Swearingen 5, Bridgeman 6, Street 5, Grubbs 19, Bowers 3, Tuelle 12, Weir 2, Garland 1.

Unaka        6   6   4 14 – 30

Hampton  16 18  9 10 – 53

3-point goals: U 2 (Drew 1, Doss 1), H 5 (Grubbs 3, Swearingen 1, Street 1)

 

BOYS

Hampton 81-53

Unaka (53)

Lewis 19, Houghton 2, Searfoss 19, Overdorf 4, Wright 4, Parlier 2, Pierce 5

Hampton (81)

McClain 3, Crumley 2, Jones 13, Valentine 16, Norris 6, Lunsford 4, Velazquez 6, Wiltshire 2, Camillo 16, Hutchinson 8, Butler 1, Russell 4.

Unaka                 10   9 15 19 – 53

Hampton             16 24 22 19 – 81

3-point goals: U 4 (Searfoss 4), H 5 (Camillo 4, Jones 1). Technicals : U (Bench), H (Camillo).