It was a hard night for the Lady Warriors up on Warrior Hill as they dropped their match up with Unicoi 51-44 Friday night.

Happy Valley came in the first frame and dominated, closing out the period with a three from Annie Woods and back-to-back buckets from Kalee Johnson and Jenna Eaton to put the Lady Warriors up 20-12 at the end of the first.

The second period was opened up with another trey from Woods as the Lady Warriors extended their lead to 23-12. However, the Lady Devils went on 11-point run to push themselves within three points of Happy Valley at 26-23. Unicoi’s Hannah Rice provided seven of the 11 with a three and two buckets. Two foul shots from Johnson would put the Lady Warriors up 28-23 going into the second half.

“We executed real well in the first quarter,” Happy Valley head coach Larry Abel said. “In the second quarter we were set on for quick shots and jump shots. We got into a little bit of foul trouble. We didn’t take care of the basketball and they got back in it.”

It was in the third frame that Happy Valley had their most trouble as they were out scored 12-3. A three pointer from Unicoi’s Haley Webb pushed the Lady Devils ahead 33-30 midway through the third. A bucket from Lady Devils’ Morgan Brown gave Unicoi a 35-31 lead going into the last period.

Early in the fourth quarter, Eaton put the Lady Warriors back in the lead 38-35 with a triple and a bucket. Shortly after, Unicoi’s Chelsey Hayness put up five consecutive point to put the Lady Devils back up 40-39. With the Lady Warriors trailing 42-43, Rice busted a three to put Unicoi up 46-42. Things would unravel from there as the Lady Devils closed out the game with a small five point run.

Johnson led the game in scoring with 18. She was followed up by Woods who had nine, all of which came from threes. Eaton also ended the night with nine points.

On the Blue Devils side of the ball, Hayness ended the night with 17 points. Rice followed closely behind with 15. Rice also recorded 3 triples.

“We came out flat and did not have good shot selection in the third quarter,” Abel said. “Late in the fourth quarter we did not get the defensive stops that we needed. We just didn’t play with intensity.”

Saturday the Lady Warriors will host Hampton.

Unicoi 51

Hayness 17, Rice 15, Brown 11, Webb 6, Padget 2,

Happy Valley 44

Johnson 18, Annie Woods 9, Eaton 9, Whitaker 6, Street 2

Unicoi 12 11 12 16 — 51

Happy Valley 20 8 3 13 — 44

3-point goals— Unicoi 5 (Rice 3, Brown 2 ) Happy Valley 4 (Woods 3, Eaton 1)

It is hard to beat a team when they come out on fire.

And that was Unicoi Friday night as they defeated the Warriors 69-45 inside of Happy Valley High School.

In the first half the Blue Devils recorded 10 threes as they were unstoppable from the arc.

“I have been around the game along time, and I don’t think I have ever seen a team shoot it like that,” Happy Valley head coach Chuck Babb said.

The onslaught began in the first as the Blue Devils put up eight unanswered points, six of which came from Trevor Hensley, who quickly busted two threes. Happy Valley’s finally answered with a lay up, but shortly after the Blue Devils sunk another bucket and a three to push out to 14-2. Warriors’ Tyler Torbett busted a three of his own to help close the gap. At the end of the first frame the Devils were up 15-7.

In the second period, things got out of hand as Unicoi sank seven threes, and before the end of the first half Unicoi was up 47-18.

“Some the shots we let get loose, but a lot of the shots we had a hand in their face,” Babb said. “There is not a lot you can do when a team is shooting like that.”

In the third, the Warriors picked a little steam as they out score the Blue Devils 15-14 in the period. Pushing the Warriors along was Torbett who put up seven points in the frame, with three coming from a triple. Torbett ended the night with 10 points. At the end of three, Unicoi was up 61-33.

Happy Valley’s Sam Blevins opened up the fourth with a three. He would end the night with nine points.

Towards the end of the game, the Warriors had a 9-2 run that was capped off with a three from Chase Young, but it would not be enough.

“It is a rivalry game and it is always fun to be here,” Unicoi head coach John English said. “Happy Valley always brings it. I thought our kids had the right mind set. But again you cannot predict shots going in like they did in the first half. Like I said, the game gets a lot easier, when the balls fall.”

Saturday, the Warriors are hosting the Hampton Bulldogs.

Unicoi 69

Tr. Hensley 18, Putman 11, Webb 9, Smith 7, Nicksic 6, Spears 6, Shelton 6, Hendrickson 4, McNabb 2

Happy Valley 45

Torbett 10, Blevins 9, Hicks 8, Matherly 5, Barlow 5, Chr. Young 3, Cha. Young 3, Barnett 2

Unicoi 15 32 14 8 — 69

Happy Valley 7 11 15 12 — 45

3-point goals— Unicoi 11 (Putman 3, Webb 3, Hensley 2, Spears 2, Nicksic 1) Happy Valley 6 (Torbett 2, Blevins 1, Chr. Young 1, Matherly 1, Cha. Young 1)