Late in the first quarter CCHS led the Three Rivers District second best team 16-11. Was this going to be the night that a District foe would have a chance at the half ? Floyd County was 8-1 in league play coming in and they were playing at home in front of a rowdy crowd that was extra amped for two reasons – their opponent and Senior Day for the Boys.
Running out the clock at the end of the first quarter, Kalee Easter offered up a 3-pointer just before the horn that bounced on the rim three or four times before it finally dropped.
That basket was the start of what I would have to label 🏷 a basketball 🏀 clinic. When the dust settled six Cavaliers scored a combined 32 points while holding a good team to just nine.
Two things jumped out during the 32-9 run 🏃♂️- the first being the purcision that Coach Mark Motley”s team operated on the Buffaloes and the second one being the incredible play of Bella Crotts. The 5’10 Senior is usually the first player in off the bench and the confidence that she appears to be playing with as of late just gives any upcoming opponents of the Cavaliers one more match-up problem.
Once again the question would have to be which was the better team ? Was it the Carroll County offense or the Cavaliers defense ?
Let’s start with the defense, after allowing 11 points over the first eight minutes the unit surrendered just 20 points over the remaining 24 minutes. At some point I would like to research the average points scored by the opponent in our 10 District games.
Team defense is a term that I use a great deal when describing the Lady Cavaliers and its because its not like one or two players are playing ball hawking D, its five players all playing it at the same time.
Offensively eight of the 10 Cavs scored with a trio finishing in double figures. Alyssa Ervin poured in 18 points while Easter added 13 and Lauren Alley dropped in 12 points. Jaelyn Hagee added eight more and all four of them never saw the floor in the fourth quarter.
It would be easy enough to pick any of the four out but the most encouraging one would be the way that Alley cut to the basket on offense and controlled the boards on defense.
Ashton Richardson played the four quarter and guided the non-starters to a 7-7 draw with the Buffaloes over the final 8:00 minutes. Crotts and Katie Lam both added five points while Richardson scored three and Curdy Gardner finished with two points.
The Lady Cavaliers close out their regular season with a matinee performance at Salem High School.
Nobody knows what the path awaits this team in the post season as they look to defend their State Championship but this know…. the conversation that will take place in the Coaching rooms of the teams that will cross paths with this team.
Best of luck trying to find a weakness on either end of the floor !
The game later today vs LCA should be a nice test for our Lady Cavaliers 👩.
A.S.P.N on The Hill 