Despite hitting 12 three-balls, the Unaka Lady Rangers fell to Hampton on Friday night by a 56-52 tally at Van Huss / White gymnasium in Watauga Valley Conference action.

Unaka turned the ball over 18 times including three down the stretch as the Lady Bulldogs came back from trailing by two to win.

“This was two good teams in a rivalry game going at it,” Lady ‘Dogs head coach Bud Hazelwood said. “Unaka shot the lights out – we couldn’t guard them. With them, it’s pick your poison with Parlier and Potter down low and their outside shooters. We made some good shots too and got turnovers in the last three possessions.”

Unaka (17-8, 3-3 WVC) trailed 19-13 after one period but battled back to take a 25-24 lead on a trey from senior guard Lexi Garland. However, Hampton senior forward Shyanne Tuelle scored 10 of her game-high 23 points in the first half and Hannah Collins connected from long range to stake the Lady Bulldogs to a 30-27 halftime lead.

The Lady Rangers long range shooting (seven first-half three’s) kept them in the contest despite 10 turnovers – with four steals by Tuelle. In all, she finished with six steals. Tuelle got hot from three-point range in the third period sinking three of them to give Hampton a 43-37 lead at the 1:57 mark.

Stephanie Campbell hit a trey at the buzzer and gave Hampton a 46-40 lead going into the final stanza. A basket by Myah Parlier followed by a trey from Ericka Potter tied the game at 47-47 at the 5:42 mark of regulation but Kaysi Royston connected on a trey to give the Lady ‘Dogs back the lead.

A trey from Garland and a deuce from Potter gave Unaka a 52-50 lead with 1:37 remaining in regulation but Hampton scored the last six points of the game, all from the free throw line to clinch the win.

“We are getting better with each game,” Hazelwood said. “We missed some shots and have had some kids out with flu bug that hit us, but we are getting better.”

Hampton 56-52

Unaka (52)

S. Tipton 8, Garland 12, Sav. Tipton 5, Parlier 12, Potter 3, Lowe 3, Markland 9.

Hampton (56)

Campbell 13, Royston 8, Tuelle 23, Hill 7, Carden 2, Collins 3.

Unaka 13 14 13 12 – 52

Hampton 19 11 16 10 – 56

3-point goals : U 12 (S. Tipton 2, Garland 4, Sav. Tipton 1, Potter 1, Lowe 1, Markland 3), H 8 (Tuelle 3, Campbell 1, Royston 2, Hill 1, Collins 1).

BOYS

Hampton 73, Unaka 42

A game that was knotted at 13 after one period became a runaway win for Hampton by halftime. The Bulldogs outscored Unaka (2-18, 0-6 WVC) 15-7 in the second period for a 28-20 halftime lead and were never in danger from there.

“We got off to a slow start there,” Bulldogs head coach Ned Smith said. “We picked up the defensive intensity in the third quarter and got some turnovers and turned it into offense. We had good balanced scoring Jordan Bentley had seven big rebounds and Gavin Hardin had six. You have to win these conference games at home and hope to steal one or two on the road.”

A 24-6 third-period advantage for Hampton (14-7, 5-1 WVC) made it a 52-26 contest going into the final period. Bentley led the ‘Dogs with 14 points followed by Hunter Davenport and Dru Owens with 13 each and Hardin chipped in 11. For the Rangers, Isaac Hill had a game-high 17 points with Daniel Ensor adding 12.

Hampton 73-42

Unaka (42) Johnson 3, Hill 17, Houghton 2, Drew 5, Burke 3, Ensor 12.

Hampton (73)

Livingston 4, Owens 13, Jones 6, Bentley 14, Davenport 13, Hardin 11, M. Hughes 5, Cash 6, Duncan 2.

Unaka 13 7 6 16 – 42

Hampton 13 15 24 21 – 73

3-point goals: U 2 (Drew 1, Johnson 1), H 7 (Owens 3, Hardin 3, Hughes 1).