Warriors sweep West Greene to open season; Gouge, Maddox pick up first career wins
Published 6:30 pm Wednesday, November 14, 2018
- Star Photo/Bryce Phillips Happy Valley's Dylan Willis drives the ball up court.
The Happy Valley basketball teams started out the 2018-19 season in the right direction Tuesday night on Warriors Hill.
The Lady Warriors used a big second quarter to dispatch West Greene 76-22, while the Warriors handled the Buffaloes 53-43 in the nightcap.
Tuesday’s wins gave head coaches Thomas Gouge and Jeremy Maddox their first wins as head coaches.
Maddox, who coaches the boys’ team, said that he wasn’t really thinking about it being his first win and was just happy that his team picked up a victory.
“Later on I will think about it, but right now, it is about the kids,” said Maddox. “Our kids deserve success, and I am just happy for them. We hope this can be a confidence builder moving forward.”
Both teams will be back in action this evening as Happy Valley hosts Tennessee High.
Happy Valley 76, West Greene 22 (Girls)
The Lady Warriors, after taking an 18-6 lead in the first quarter, went on a scoring frenzy in the second as HV posted 33 points in the period to take a 51-12 lead into the locker rooms. The Lady Warriors Shay Whitson spearheaded the second-quarter attack as she recorded 13 points in the period. Both HV’s Adrienne Henegar and Olivia Absher posted seven points each to help the Lady Warriors rally.
“The main thing is we are playing for one another right now,” said Gouge, the Lady Warriors head coach. “They have really bought into the system. The girls are really hungry to get off to a good start.”
Happy Valley played high-pressure defense throughout the game which was key during their second-quarter run. Whitson and Absher finished with five steals each.
“I haven’t checked the stats yet but I am sure we forced 25 to 30 turnovers,” said Gouge. “We were just getting after it defensively. I am happy with everyone.”
The Lady Warriors outpaced West Greene 25-10 in the second half to pick up the win.
Whitson led the team in scoring with 16 points while Absher posted 15. Henegar had 14 points, and Emily Lunceford finished the night with 10 points and seven rebounds. Happy Valley’s Tiana Long and Casey Campbell had six points each.
Happy Valley 53, West Greene 43 (Boys)
The Warriors came out of the first quarter trailing 11-7 behind West Greene. Happy Valley, however, put together a 15-point run in the back half of the second quarter allowing the Warriors enough cushion to hold off the Buffalos in the second half after heading into intermission leading 28-16.
The 15-point rally was sparked by a 3-pointer from Noah Stevens before Happy Valley senior Bryce Carter finished out the run with a bucket and one. Carter provided seven points in the second quarter to pace the Warriors.
“We had a big play from James Harmon,” said Carter. “I think he came out and had two charges in that 15-point run. He did really good. Our guards did good shooting the ball during that time. Really the big key to the game was defense. What changed it right there was good shooting and good defense.”
The Buffaloes cut the Warriors lead to six points in the third before Harmon hit back-to-back buckets followed up with Stevens and Harmon connecting on back-to-back 3-pointers to give HV a 40-26 lead heading into the fourth.
The Buffaloes battled in the final quarter as they outscored HV 17-13. The Warriors, however, were able to hold off West Greene.
Carter led the Warriors with 13 points while Stevens followed up with 12 points and two 3-pointers. Harmon had 11 points as teammate Dylan Willis posted seven points.
