Yesterday’s Girls JV Basketball Championship game had an incredible feel to it from start to finish. Give part of the credit to the aquatics of the Buffaloes gym (best at holding sound in our area) but I figured out why the atmosphere was so electric???

At 2 pm on a beautiful weekend day there wasn’t going to be a walk-up crowd or we showed up early for the Varsity game crowd in the building. The Gym yesterday was just full of people that Love their Daughters, Granddaughters and Sisters.

Every possession up and down the court the Cavaliers five could hear 👂a proud and caring group of fans cheering them on. They in turn gave their families plenty to cheer about.

The opening 7:00 minutes was full of nervous energy that led the Cavs to netting just 1 point on a Carrie Delp free throw. FCHS led 5-1 after one and appeared to be well on their way to their third victory of the season over the Cavaliers.

Carroll County scored six unanswered points in the opening 75 seconds of the 2nd quarter to take a 7-5 lead but Floyd responded just as quick with three consecutive baskets and those two runs exchanged set the table for the remainder of the contest.

Tied at 11-11 @ the Half, Floyd finally connected from 3-point range twice and the 8-0 run threatened to put the game out of reach. For the second time on the day CCHS stormed back, this time with a 13-2 burst charged by Delp (9 of her team high 10 points).

Both teams had two runs each and the Cavaliers held a 24-21 lead after three quarters.

Floyd opened the final frame with its biggest burst of the day when they scored the frames first 10 points, taking a 31-24 lead with just three minutes left to play. The cheering amped up and against all odds to Cavs shut down the Buffaloes for the remainder of regulation.

Kaci Dalton scored inside and Natalie (Callie, not Natalie as I was next to Natalie) Harris made a free throw to bull CCHS within four points at 31-27 and Laiken Burnett took care of the rest by scoring the final two baskets in the 7-0 run 🏃‍♂️. One of the two baskets was scored after an offensive rebound while the other came after a perfect pass from Delp. The defensive pressure kept Floyd from coming close to scoring a basket while the Cavaliers had a couple of great looks but couldn’t convert which sent us to Overtime at 31-31.

Both teams were feeling the moment when the 3:30 OT started and the jitters from the high energy led to a total of five possessions which ended in a turnover. See Floyd County also had a group of fans that while energetic where no match for our level of support. I didn’t feel this level of energy when I was in the Superdome last year watching the Final Four game between Duke and UNC.

I was now nervous just watching the closing minutes so I can only imagine what the young ladies on both teams were feeling. The Buffaloes eked out a 4-2 advantage in OT to claim the victory and the District Championship.

I awaited the Championship trophy 🏆 or plaque and then the Runner-Up one to be presented to the teams so that our young Ladies could receive one final wave of appreciation from their families.

It was going to be the perfect conclusion to the season, getting to take a bow in front of the Parents that were there for them in such a Loving way ❤.

CCHS – 33

Carrie Delp 10, Laiken Burnett 8, Kaci Dalton 6, Natalie Burress 6, Callie Harris 3.

Congratulations 👏👏👏 Ladies on a fine season!

Please help me with one item – I have seen Laiken’s last name spelled two different ways and I need to get it correct, is it Burnette or Burnett ?

Please and Thanks

This is were I get myself in trouble by thinking out loud. These young Ladies played all season and gave their very best to their Coach and teammates so they could possibly earn the right to play on Saturday.

Now, I will just look silly if they send them a plaque or trophy 🏆 after the fact but we have at least one home game remaining for the Varsity Girls so how about we take five minutes to let this team be introduced in front of a crowd of Cavaliers fans. If there’s no trophy or plaque created for them I will happily get one made for the occasion.

The players showed up and played hard, it might just be me but I think they’ve earned a round of applause in front of their schoolmates.

Mr. Myers, or Tex to his Carroll County teammates is a Junior and wrestles at 190 pounds.

Spending time with these Cavaliers yesterday in Christiansburg I asked each one of them a two part question – #1 what is your favorite part of Wrestling for Carroll County and #2 – if you had a classmate say they wanted to try out for the team what piece of advice would you offer him or her?

Tex – Getting to be around the team and the Coaches.

You have to commit to the practices room. Winning comes from the time spent in the practice room.

One of my goals in this process is to have as much balance as possible so I wanted to note a couple of differences between the final game for the Boys JV and the Girls JV.

Trying to cover as many of the final events as possible I was at both final games but there was one HUGE difference. The other night at the Boy’s game we went from the end of the game to immediately warn ups for the Varsity game. There was no window of opportunity to spend 10 minutes with the team and the parents after the contest.

That 10 minutes being available yesterday created an window of time that allowed me to get both a team photo 📷 and 15 Family 👪 Photos.

The next step will be to create a post for our young Ladies one at a time, creating a memory for them. I will be presenting them in numerical order because its not about starters or reserves when you want to acknowledge hard work and dedication.

If the window presents itself to do for the JV Boys I would happily do the same for them.

Once again, I want to say Thank You to the families for both being there to support their Daughters yesterday and for allowing me to capture a memorable moment ❤

Part 3 of our 10 part series on the Boys Varsity Basketball 🏀 team brings us the remaining Senior Nathan Redd. #22 on his jersey but let’s see if we can find out just a little bit more about Mr.Redd.

QUESTION #1 – What current or former player is the best comparison to your style of play?

Amari Bailey – Power Forward for the UCLA Bruins.

“He’s always finishing at the rim and that’s the way I try and play.”

QUESTION #2 – Trying to compare Coach Barnes to another person out there today, who would you choose ?

Nathan – The basketball Coach (Mosley) off the show Last Chance U. “He’s always trying to help you get better.”

QUESTION #3 – Please share a thought from your time inside the Cavaliers Basketball program ?

Nathan – “I feel truly blessed for the opportunity that Coach Barnes and his staff gave me after I took two years off from playing basketball.”

QUESTION #4 – You are being presented an Award at a Banquet, who do you want to say Thank You to?

Nathan – “Luke Johnson – for all of his off season help and his post games conversation”.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Mr. Nathan Reed!

Tomorrow we will share our look at Davis Reitzel

Editors Note 📝 – we are presenting the players in the same order that Coach Barnes sent them to his office.