It was rather obvious during the pregame warm-ups that Head Coach Marc Motley was going to have the majority of his players back but they were going to be far from being 100% healthy. Fortunately they defeated a good Floyd County team 60-53 by gutting one out on Wednesday night in front of a packed house.
The Lady Cavaliers picked up another Three Rivers District victory over the Buffaloes but traded in their speed and grace for grit and determination. 48 hours after having five players not available at James River due to a combination of illness and injury, the Cavaliers more players on the bench but clearly less fuel in the tank.
Kiley Hylton proved to be a handful all night and she led Floyd County with a game high 25 points. By the end of the night Motley has sending help on the defensive end in hopes of slowing down the gifted scorer.
Carroll County trailed early by double digits, 18-8, appearing to be in danger of being on the wrong end of the scoreboard for a second consecutive contest. The turning point came just as the first half was coming to an end. Alyssa Ervin picked the pocket of the player she was guarding and scored on a lay-up just before the buzzer to get Carroll County to within 26-20.
The halftime break allowed the players to drink plenty of fluids, catch their breath and regroup. The only player that appeared to be playing at normal speed was Sophomore Corrie Delp. Delp’s energy on both ends of the floor in the second half was one of the keys to the victory.
The gritty Cavaliers made some adjustments on the defensive end and it paid off in spades ♠️ in the third quarter. Floyd County was limited to 11 points in the third quarter and both Ervin and fellow Senior Katie Lam warmed up in a much slower paced offense. The duo combined for 21 of the Cavaliers 23 points, allowing the home team to carry a 43-37 lead into the final eight minutes.
Lam opened the scoring in the fourth quarter with her fourth 3-pointer and suddenly the lead was 46-37. The trouble was everyone not named Delp was starting to slow down half a step.
Floyd County went on an 11-2 run to pull within 55-50 with 1:15 remaining. Motley called a timeout to allow his group one last chance to catch their breath. The team came back on the court and finished off the Buffaloes by Ervin driving and dishing to Madison Lyons for a lay-up on consecutive possessions to put the game out of reach.
” We were far from full strength out there tonight,” said Motley. ” I am so proud of the effort they gave us, especially in the second half.”
Once again seven Cavaliers played and each of them contributed at key moments throughout the evening. Ervin finished with 24 and Lam dropped 19 on five 3-pointers but they don’t cross the finish line without Madison Lyons (7 points), Sarah Alderman (3 points) and Delp (3 points). Both Callie Harris and Casey Young made their lone baskets during the four quarter push to protect the lead.
Fortunately the Lady Cavaliers will enjoy a day off now before returning to The Hill Friday night to host Patrick County at 5:30pm. Friday night will be an event more so than a normal basketball double header. Among the things taken place is this years Hall of Fame class will be honored in between the contests.
Earlier in the evening the Kayla Show was in full force. Head Coach Kayla Nester collected another victory with Kayla Young pouring in 20 points during the 48-37 victory. Both Laynie-Jo Leonard and Faith Clontz added eight points to help secure the win. The entire team played tough defense from start to finish, allowing the team to avenge an overtime loss at Floyd County.
It is worth noting that Carroll County just completed a four game sweep over their neighbors to the East. Not sure about the number of times that has happened over the years we have been playing against the Buffaloes.
Ervin’s 24 points has her 14 points shy of tying the School record currently held by Erin Gibson. Assuming she continues to regain her strength that bit of School history will just be one more part of an amazing evening on Friday.
A.S.P.N on The Hill 