The emotions of the evening were highly predictable as the community said its goodbyes to the indoor versions of Madison Coleman and Callie Harris on Senior Night. Coleman will now lace up her cleats and roam the outfield for Head Coach Rick Nester at Cavalier Park while Harris will take to the Pitch at Tommy Thompson Field for her Sister, Adrienne Harris McGuire.
Yes, we knew that both families would be reminiscent and that the crowd would be there to soak in the pre-game festivities. But what we didn’t know is just how stimulating a contest was about to take place between Carroll County and the Highlanders of Glenvar.
Hailey Cushman and her talented group of Junior Varsity players finished up with the school high-water mark for victories with 12. But the fact that Glenvar did not field a JV team this season, the future Kiddos missed out on two things. They missed out on wins 13 & 14 but also missed out on getting to set the stage for the grand finale.
Glenvar High School runs very Hot 🔥 and Cold 🥶 with their Athletic teams as they tend to challenge for State Championships or struggle to be competitive. Girls Basketball is a great example of this as the team entered the night with a mark of 0-20 on the year.
CCHS is in a major rebuild process with its flagship program and Head Coach Howard Mayo returned to the place where he began his Hall of Fame career to handle the reboot. I cannot imagine someone who is more qualified than Mayo to handle the AD portion of Lady Cavalier Basketball, with the AD standing for After Dynasty.
Later tonight, Alyssa Ervin will lace up her sneakers 👟 down in Greenville, South Carolina where Furman University is set to host Samford University. Ervin was a generational talent and played with some impressive teammates. Mayo is tasked with finding the right combination of players that will allow the program to return to its place in the Basketball world 🌎 that is the Three Rivers District.
Mayo is old school and has won at every stop ✋ along the way. Pretty sure he is going to get the mission accomplished and he has surrounded himself with a boat 🚢 load of Basketball junkies with ties to the program. Cushman, Assistant Coach Kayla Nester, Middle School Coach Kris Richardson and AAU workaholic, Brandi Cochran Mitchell all have deep roots with Lady Cavaliers hoops.
Carroll County was looking for away to both send off the duo and have everyone who will be returning leave on a positive note 📝. The challenge was playing against a team that desperately wanted to secure its first and only victory on the season.
Both teams had their moments in the first half and the Lady Cavaliers finished up with a 26 – 25 lead. The fact that the game was competitive was not a surprise as the first time around up at Glenvar, the game was up for grabs until the very end.
Unfortunately, the Cavs offense hit a speed bump in the third quarter and Glenvar made the most of their opportunity. The visitors outscored Carroll County 14 – 5 in the third quarter and their largest lead was nine.
The fourth quarter comeback was such an answered prayer 🙏 because of it being the lasting memory that the returning players would have for their off season workouts. RayleGoins & Laynie-Jo Leonard led the team in scoring on the night and here is how the team erased a nine point deficit!! Eight down to start the 4th…
Opening possession, Bree Campbell Zendejas finds Aaliyah Hampton for a lay-up!
7:06 – Hampton goes 1 of 2 from the Free Throw line.
5:39 – Coleman with a lay-up
5:15 – CC Mitchell goes 1 of 2 at Line, we rebound the miss and Campbell – Zendejas finds Coleman for a lay-up !
4: 28 – Hampton jumper from Coleman
Tied at 41
1:51 – Campbell – Zendejas with a lay-up and we lead by 1
1:37 – Glenvar banked in a 3-pointer and now we trail by 2. We commit two turnovers and its look like the end of the line.
Not so fast my friend, in my Lee Corso voice… After a Glenvar free throw pushed their lead to 46 – 43, Leonard scored an And One to tie the game at 46!!!
The final play was almost the perfect ending. We forced a miss and Harris grabbed the defensive rebound and looked to go end to end. The shot bounced off the rim but Raylee Goins grabbed the board and was fouled on the play.
Goins missed both free throws at 0:21.5 but instead of dropping her head, the Sophomore simply stole the ball right back and gave us the lead 48-46, scoring 2 the old fashioned way.
Coleman sealed the deal by pilfering the ball and the Lady Cavaliers ran out the clock ⏰. Gabby probably never been so proud of her Kiddo stealing something in her life.
Coach Mayo offered his thoughts on the evening :
“We showed a lot of toughness tonight coming back from a 8 point deficit in the 4th quarter. We got contributions from multiple players. Raylee Goins had a double double with 14 points and 11 rebounds .
Laynie Jo Leonard come off the bench and provides a spark with 11 points. I am glad we were able to send our seniors off with a victory. We wish Callie and Madison the best in their future endeavors.”
Glenvar HS. 7 18 (25) 14 (39) 7 – 46
Carroll County 8 18 (26) 5 (31) 17 -48
Sometimes a win is just a win, other times its a building block !!
Thank You Coach Mayo, Coach Cushman and Coach Richardson ➕ everyone who helped you all this season !
A.S.P.N on The Hill 