Unaka girls beat Hampton, will face North Greene for District 1-1A crown

ELIZABETHTON — Playing the same team twice in the same week can present some unique challenges. But Unaka wasn't particularly fazed by the task on Friday night. The top-seeded Lady Rangers – after beating Hampton by six on Monday – opened their District 1-1A Tournament run with a 64-28 rout of the No. 4 Lady Bulldogs at Happy Valley's Bayless Gymnasium. "(Playing them in two straight games) is awful, to be honest with you," Lady Rangers head coach Kenneth Chambers said. "Anybody we play in our conference – North Greene, Cloudland, Hampton, even UH – they've got great coaches. I think we're either the best conference in 1A or the second-best in the state." It took some time for either team to break the seal to start the game. Over three minutes to be exact. At the 4:57 mark of the first quarter, Arianna Southerland knocked down a 3-pointer to put Unaka (21-4) on the board. The triple was enough to spark a 12-0 Lady Ranger run that took up the majority of the first period. Hampton (11-17) finally got on the board with just nine seconds left in the frame, courtesy of a Hannah Smith triple. In the second, Unaka pulled away and never looked back. The Lady Rangers used separate 9-0 runs in the period that ultimately resulted in an extended 18-2 spurt. They led 33-9 going into the second half. 3-point shooting was the biggest strength for the Lady Rangers on the night. They knocked down 13 shots from distance as a club. "We figured they'd probably play a zone against us," Chambers said. "So we worked really hard the past couple of days trying to prepare for their zone. We done okay at times and there were other times we struggled. But they had a lot to do with it. They play really well." Leading the charge was Michelle Shields, who hit four shots from distance on her way to a game-high 28 points. Southerland also reached double figures in a balanced attack, netting 14 points. The Lady Bulldogs were operating a player down for the contest. Senior Gracie Jenkins suffered an ankle injury in Thursday's win over University High and missed the semifinal. Hannah Smith and Lauren Smith each had six points for a Hampton team-high. No. 2 North Greene 47, No. 3 Cloudland 45 Eva Leonard hit a corner 3 off an inbound with 11 seconds left for what ultimately was the game-winning shot for the Lady Huskies. Cloudland had a last chance look with Makinna Shell, but the potential game-tying runner at the buzzer came up short. "It was a war all night," Lady Highlanders head coach Matt Birchfield said. "Back-and-forth game all night long…Kid hits a big 3 in the corner off an inbounds play. She hit a big-time shot. Our kids played hard." North Greene (25-5) entered the final eight minutes trailing by two points. However, they opened the fourth quarter on a 7-1 run to go up 36-32. Shell hit a floater with 3:30 left in the contest to end the run, cutting the deficit to two. The Lady Highlanders (23-7) took a three-point lead with under two minutes to play courtesy of a Jayla Harper triple and another basket from Shell. The two sides continued to trade punches leading into the final sequence. Cloudland got off to a rough offensive start, only scoring eight points in the first quarter. But, as the game went on, the Lady 'Landers began to find a bit of a flow to their attack. "The pace changed and I think that helped us later in the game," Birchfield said. "Early, it was a slow pace. We struggled a little bit. Then the game got up-and-down the floor a little better. When we do that, we're a little better. That helped us, offensively." Leonard led the Lady Huskies with 12 points, while Tralyn Southerland chipped in 11 between her work in the paint and at the line. Shell posted a game-high 14 points for Cloudland. Abby Clawson added a dozen, with eight coming in the first half. Up Next Unaka and North Greene will play in the district championship game on Monday night, while Hampton and Cloudland will start Monday with a battle for third place.