Lady Cyclones avoid Falcons snare in District 1 3-A action

Published 1:31 am Sunday, February 20, 2022

By Contributed Content

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BY BRANDON HYDE
STAR CORRESPONDENT
CHURCH HILL – In a game that would come down to the wire,  the Elizabethton Lady Cyclones were finally able to seal the deal with mere seconds to go allowing them to advance to the finals over an upset-minded Volunteer Lady Falcon team.
The Lady Cyclones took a closer-than-desired 55-52 win.
It was back and forth early in the first period with both teams rebounding and scoring well.  The Lady Falcons had a bit of an edge as the Lady Cyclones began to falter on shots with Volunteer taking advantage going up 16-8 midway through the period.
Elizabethton would rally as Lina Lyon would make a nice inside spin move to the basket for the Lady Cyclones cutting the lead to 18-16.  However, the Lady Falcons would hit a three at the end of the period putting them up 21-16.
The second period saw back-to-back threes early on by both teams, but turnovers by the Lady Falcons and a three-point play by Lyon after a shot and foul would tie the game at 24.
A missed shot hitting the backboard would give the ball back to Volunteer and after hitting a three, the Lady Falcons would go up 27-24.  A normally sure-handed Lyon would take the next possession coast to coast, but would lose track of the ball, turning it over.
Lyon would redeem herself on the next possession, putting up two for the Lady Cyclones.  The game would be tied after Cyclones Marlee Mathena would feed Reiley Whitson who was fouled and hit both shots at the line.  The half would end that way after a blown in-bound by the Lady Falcons with only a half second on the clock
The start of the second half saw both teams go scoreless after a full three minutes had elapsed.  Elizabethton finally broke the ice with a three-pointer by Mathena.
She would follow that up with an inside shot putting Elizabethton up by five points. This was short lived as the Lady Falcons would hit a three followed by a flurry of scoring to put them up 40-34 by the end of the third.
Elizabethton started out the fourth period with a couple of back-to-back baskets, drawing to within three points with less than five minutes to go but Volunteer would counter with another three-pointer putting them back up by five.
This forced Elizabethton to call timeout and regroup.  It didn’t seem to help as they immediately turned the ball over with a travel.  They would redeem themselves as Lyon would go coast to coast for two points.
The next possession would see Whitson hit a reverse layup bringing the Lady Cyclones to within two points.  A subsequent steal by Mathena on an inbound would tie the game at 47 apiece.  The Lady Falcons would march down and go back up by two points with less than two minutes to go.
After a missed shot and jump ball after a rebound, Lyon would get fouled on a shot for a three-point play.  Lyon, with a 10-point fourth period,  would come back with a drive to the basket for two points making it a one-point game with 45 seconds to go.
On their next possession, Elizabethton’s Renna Lane drove hard to the basket but came up short.  After a rebound, the ball would end up back in Lane’s hands who would score on a fade-away one-hander, putting the Lady Cyclones up 53-52.
Whitson left the game with a bloody lip after a skirmish led to a foul on Elise McKinney for the Falcons.  McKinney would miss both shots,  giving the rebound to Elizabethton, but a turnover gave the ball right back to the Lady Falcons.
However, Lyon snagged the ball on the inbound and headed to the Lady Cyclone end, but would be intentionally tripped. At this point, Lane would inbound to Lyon who hit Katie Lee all alone under the basket, catching the Volunteers napping and wrapping up the victory for the Lady Cyclones.
Elizabethton advanced to the finals against Sullivan East.
Lyon would have a big night with 25 points followed by 13 from Mathena and six from Holly.
—
Elizabethton, 55-52
Elizabethton (55)
Olivia Holly 6, Lina Lyon 25, Renna Lane 5, Marlee Mathena 13, Reiley Whitson 4, Katie Lee 2.
Volunteer (52)
Naomi Strickland 3, Kendra Huff 2, Elise McKinney 4, Audrey Evans 15, Jackie Begley 11, Veda Barton 17.
Elizabethton…….16 12   6   21 – 55
Volunteer……….. 21   7  12  12 – 52

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