ERWIN— The Happy Valley Lady Warriors were looking to claim one of four spots for next week’s regional tournament, but standing in the way was the feisty Lady Longhorns of Johnson County as the second day of the District 1-AA tournament tipped off Thursday at Unicoi County High School.
The Lady Warriors wasted little time in seizing the upper hand and cruised to a 79-41 victory and a Saturday date with the Elizabethton Lady Cyclones in the first semifinal of the day at 4 p.m.
“Defensively, we upped the pressure a little bit and got better rotation after having some early tournament jitters because you lose one and you go home,” said Lady Warrior coach Larry Abel. “We settled down and played well after that. We were a little sloppy on offense tonight in our execution.
“We have a big game coming up, and we have to be a lot better on our game offensively.”
Happy Valley saw a quartet of players reach double figures in the contest led by Adrienne Henegar, Kaitlyn Roberts, and Emily Whitaker who dumped in 17 points apiece.
Shayln Whitson, who was coming off a stomach virus, netted 10 points off the bench.
Bayley McGee, a regular starter at point guard, still is battling an injury but came up a couple of points shy of hitting double digits, finishing the contest with eight points. She also added seven assist and five steals.
Tianna Long logged four points and hauled in seven rebounds. Whitson also was solid on the glass with nine boards to lead in that stat.
Whitaker, who tallied four steals and six rebounds to go along with her 17-point output, said everything starts with the Lady Warrior defense.
“We had to improve our defense to improve our offense,” stated Whitaker. “If our defense isn’t working then our offense doesn’t work, so we had to kick it up a notch.
“Against Elizabethton, we are going to have to keep going for the rebounds. That is what helped us beat them at their place. We are going to have to crash the boards, play hard, and play smart.”
For Johnson County, Courtney Brooks came up big in the final contest of the season for the Lady ‘Horns as she struck for 16 points.
Destiny Cole collected five points while Britain Peele and Kaitlyn Nichols contributed with four points apiece.
With a guaranteed regional spot in tow, Abel said he was looking forward to another showdown with the Lady Cyclones on Saturday.
“I am excited,” said Abel. “Anytime you get the chance to play in the semifinals; I am excited about our opportunity.
“Elizabethton is a very solid team that’s been there and has some veteran players. It’s always a rivalry game, and I have challenged our kids to step up and play our game. I believe if we play our game, we feel like we can take care of business.”
A win Saturday for Happy Valley over Elizabethton would give the Lady Warriors their first home regional game in four years.
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District 1-AA Girls’ Basketball Tournament
Unicoi County High School
Happy Valley, 79-41
Johnson Co. (41)
Bella Miller 1, Britain Peele 4, Brittney Brooks 6, Destiny Cole 5, Courtney Brooks 16, Taylor Parsons 3, Kaitlyn Nichols 4, Michala Cretsinger 2.
Happy Valley (79)
Tianna Long 4, Bayley McGee 8, Kaitlyn Roberts 17, Haley Green 2, Bailey Ball 2, Kaitlin Depriest 2, Adrienne Henegar 17, Emily Whitaker 17, Shayln Whitson 10.
Johnson Co. …. 12 10 12 7 – 41
Happy Valley… 19 23 23 14 – 79
3-pt Goals: Johnson Co. 4 (Courtney Brooks 2, Brittney Brooks, Destiny Cole). Happy Valley 5 (Adrienne Henegar, Kaitlyn Roberts 2, Emily Whitaker 2).