In a nonconference clash the Unaka Rangers and Lady Rangers each collected wins at Bayless gym on Tuesday night. The Rangers solid defensive effort gave them a 48-36 win over Happy Valley while the Lady Rangers got 22 points and 10 rebounds from senior post Myah Parlier in a 52-45 victory over the Lady Warriors.

In the girls contest, the Lady Rangers jumped out to a 17-3 first quarter lead, and Parlier finished the night with a perfect 10-for-10 from the floor and two-for-two from the free throw line.

“Myah Parlier played great all around,” Lady Rangers head coach Kenneth Chambers said. “She showed how good she is, but this was a team effort, and I feel that if we keep working hard that we’ll continue to get better. We started out having a hard time making shots. They weren’t falling for us, but when we started driving the lane it worked better because we made our foul shots.”

HV (3-2 overall) began a comeback in the second period to close the gap to 27-23 by halftime behind 10 first half points from Adrienne Henegar and seven points from post Shalyn Whitson. The Warriors ended the third period trailing just 36-33 and Emily Lunceford’s bucket to open the fourth quarter made it a 36-35 contest.

The Rangers led 40-39 after a pair of free throws from Henegar, but the Rangers went on a six-point run at that point on deuces from senior guard Savannah Tipton, Jada Whitehead and Parlier to stake Unaka (1-5 overall) to a 46-39 lead.

Whitson hit a free throw to stop the bleeding for HV but Tipton and Parlier were six-for-six from the line down the stretch to clinch the win.

BOYS

Unaka 48,

Happy Valley 36

Warriors senior post Bryce Carter scored 20 points and collected 13 rebounds but it was not enough as his suppoting cast scored just 16 total points. Junior forward Ryan Johnson scored a team high 16 points for the Rangers and senior guard Isaac Hill scored seven points but was a force on the boards with 10 rebounds.

“We were a man down with point guard Will Sexton out sick,” said Rangers head coach Aaron Dugger. “He may be out a while, but we had some young kids step up. We have held teams to under 50 points all season but tonight was probably our best defensive effort. Carter is a load down in the post and when he settle’s in down there he can score on anybody. We just wanted to make it hard on him as much as we could.”

Johnson knocked down three 3-ball’s and scored 13 second half points to help the Rangers hold off a Warrior rally and senior forward John Ramsey added 13 points and six boards. Unaka (3-2 overall) led 20-17 at the half and extended to a 33-21 lead after three periods, holding HV to just four third quarter points.

Carter took over in the fourth quarter with 11 points, but it would not be enough as Unaka had an answer each and every time HV (1-3 overall) he scored to hold the Warriors at arms length. Johnson and Ramsey each hit two free throws ion the closing moments and Hill and Ramsey each had a two-point bucket in the final minutes.

GIRLS

Unaka 52-45

Unaka (52)

Pierce 3, J. Whitehead 5, Tipton 16, K. Forney 3, Ensor 3, Parlier 22

Happy Valley (45)

Long 12, Henegar 16, Absher 4, Lunceford 3, Whitson 10.

Unaka               17 10 9 16 – 52

Happy Valley            3 20 10 12 – 45

3-point goals: U 5 (Tipton 2, Ensor 1, Pierce 1, K. Forney 1), HV 3 (Long 2, Henegar 1)

BOYS

Unaka 48-36

Unaka (48)

Rasnick 2, Slagle 2, Johnson 16, Hill 7, Drew 5, J. Ramsey 13, D. Ramsey 3.

Happy Valley (36)

Willis 4, Cochran 3, Roberts 4, Young 3, Harmon 2, Carter 20.

Unaka               4 16 13 15 – 48

Happy Valley                9 8 4 15 – 36

3-point goals: U 5 (Johnson 3, Drew 1, D. Ramsey 1), HV 1 (Willis)