Holly Springs teams fall to Fayette-Ware


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Holly Springs teams fall to Fayette-Ware

By CLAUDE VINSON
Sports Editor

The Holly Springs Lady Hawks had their first victory of the season virtually snatched from their grasp in the final minutes of the last quarter.

The Lady Hawks faced the Lady Wildcats of Fayette-Ware on the second day of the Byhalia Tournament. From the very beginning the Lady Hawks were contending with an aggressive defense. They were being pressured on both ends of the floor. Holly High was handling it pretty well and at the same time trying to put some score difference between themselves and the Lady Wildcats. The Lady Hawks finally achieved with just under a minute left in the opening quarter when they went up 13-8.

Holly High increased the lead early in the second, thanks mostly to entering the penalty phase. Kenyada Burns and Megan Crittle were both productive at the charity stripe. The Lady Hawks must have been doing a little “line dancing” back at the home gym. They took 19 shots at the free net and made 14 of them, a big part of why they led 28-20 at intermission.

In the third frame both teams were really scrapping. The Lady Hawks, perhaps playing the best game of their young season, were prevailing. Both squads were vying for every loose ball. The Lady Wildcats were getting multiple looks but they weren’t falling. Fayette-Ware was also going to the line more often but no luck there either. Each team scored six points in the third for a 34-26 tally at the end of the period.

Holly High’s once healthy lead was diminishing rapidly. A deuce from Travon Williams, and a trey each from Kadajae Blayde and Watesha McNeal and it was all even at 34 midway the fourth. The Lady Wildcats had turned into “ball hawks,” grabbing everything loose as they took the lead at 39-34. The Lady Hawks seemed powerless to stop them, scoring only one more point as the Wildcats won 43-35.

Xavier Johnson, head coach of the Lady Hawks, shook his head and said after the game, “We had that one. It was all wrapped up and somehow we let it slip away. We have to find a way to start winning”.

Crittle led the Lady Hawks with 12.

Blayde scored 15 for Fayette-Ware, followed by 11 from Shelly Horton and eight from McNeal.

Hawks go down

The Holly High Hawks found themselves in a tough contest also in their second round game on Saturday. They faced the Wildcats of Fayette-Ware, who had upset the 6A Quistors of Olive Branch the day before. This one was also fast and furious.

The Wildcats, obviously bolstered from their big victory over Olive Branch, were ready to romp. They popped a trio of treys and moved out to a 13-6 lead before the last two minutes of the first quarter. They added another three for a 16-6 margin.

The Hawks began to trim the Wildcats’ lead down to size in the second. They got yeoman service from DaVonte Smith and some long ball aid from Justin Jeffries. His timely trey put them over the top at 28-27 just seconds before the horn.

It was tied once in the third quarter after Holly High had maintained about a four-point lead for most of the frame. Smith canned a pair of freebies to make it 45-43 at the end.

The fourth period grew hotter than the third. These Wildcats had skills. The lead kept flipping from side to side until the final two minutes when the Wildcats pulled ahead by six points. Rodney Redmond popped a trey for the Hawks and Jevon Isom stuck one back to make it a one-point game. The bad news, there were five seconds left on the clock. DaQuan Richardson was fouled and hit both shots for a 62-59 victory.

Smith scored 24 for Holly High. Next was Redmond with 11 and Jeffries with 10.

Richardson hit 13 for Fayette-Ware, helped by Bendarius Richardson with 11 and Carlos Hart also with 11. Carderius Stone had eight.

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