Hampton clinches top seed in WVC

Published 9:41 pm Saturday, February 11, 2023

By Allen LaMountain

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STAR CORRESPONDENT
By taking a pair of games from Cloudland on Friday night at Van Huss / White gymnasium, the Hampton Bulldogs and Lady Bulldogs each clinched the top spot in the Watauga Valley Conference district tournament.
The Lady Bulldogs (24-1, 7-1 WVC) took a 48-26 win over the Lady Highlanders in a physical contest, while the Bulldogs (21-6, 8-0 WVC) cruised to an 85-49 win over the Highlanders to finish unbeaten in conference play.
The Lady Highlanders (15-8, 5-3 WVC) were looking for a season sweep of Hampton, having earned a 52-49 win at Sonny Smith gym in a game that saw Cloudland lose junior point guard Sahara McKinney to a knee injury, but the Lady ‘Dogs were having none of it.
An 11-0 run for the Lady ‘Dogs gave Hampton a 15-4 first-period lead in a contest that Cloudland wanted to make a bruising, physical one, with senior post Ella Benfield making several forceful runs into the lane but had trouble getting her shot to drop.
Hampton led 27-10 at the break as Cloudland continued to make runs into the lane but came up short many times as missed layups were a serious detriment for the ‘Landers offensively.
“This was a big win as far as tournament seeding goes,” Lady ‘Dogs head coach Brandon Carpenter said. “One of the goals we set for ourselves this season was to win the conference championship. I still feel like we missed a lot of shots we usually make, but I thought we were physical on the glass. Cloudland is well coached and they are always going to play physically on the glass but I thought we held our own.”
Cloudland settled down in the second half and was outscored 21-15 in the second half but showed better poise and finally began making shots in the paint. Isabella Christman scored a team-high 13 points with Benfield adding five for the ‘Landers. For Hampton, senior Linsey Jenkins scored a game-high 18 points, with senior point guard Madison McClain adding 14.
BOYS
Hampton 85
Cloudland 49
This one was close in the first period with Hampton taking a 19-16 advantage, but a 23-9 second-period surge to open a 42-25 halftime lead saw the ‘Dogs run away with this one.
Hampton led 60-38 after three quarters were in the books and five Bulldog players scored double figures with Michael Anspaugh and junior post Hayden Campbell each leading the way with 17 points.
Senior guard and a finalist in the Mr. Basketball honors for region 1A, Cadon Buckles scored 14. Geno Carrico added 13 from the bench and head coach Ned Smith said of Carrico, “He really is a starter but I like what he gives us from the bench. He helps steady the rotation. We had 20 assists in this game and I like how we shared the ball and had a lot of good looks.”
Eli Morgan scored a game-high 18 points for the ‘Landers with Ryan Sexton adding 12.
GIRLS
Hampton 48-26
Cloudland (26)
Benfield 5, Turbyfill 4, Christman 13, R. Blair 2, Baldwin 2.
Hampton (48)
Helle 7, McClain 14, Jenkins 18, Berry 4, Nickels 5.
Cloudland 4 6 11 5 – 26
Hampton 15 12 12 9 – 48
3-point goals: C 0, H 4 (McClain 1, Berry 1, Jenkins 1, Nickels 1)
BOYS
Hampton 85-49
Cloudland (49)
Sexton 12, Morgan 18, Clarke 5, N. Caraway 6, Street 4, A. Caraway 2 Holtsclaw 2.
Hampton (85)
Lyons 10, Trivett 2, Anspaugh 17, Buckles 14, Campbell 17, Da. Nave 3, Hicks 3, D. Nave 1, Robinson 2, Carrico 13, J. McElyea 3.
Cloudland 16 9 13 11 – 49
Hampton 19 23 18 25 – 85
3-point goals: C 7 (Morgan 4, Sexton 1, Clarke 1, N. Caraway 1), H 6 (Anspaugh 2, Lyons 1,
Buckles 1, Hicks 1, J. McElyea 1)

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