The Little Smoky Mountain Tournament looks to be business as usual for the Highlands Lady Highlanders basketball team.
The LSMC regular season champions still need to close out their regular season conference schedule with Blue Ridge Early College on Friday, but the team has been firing on all cylinders the past couple weeks winning 7-of-8 ballgames to clinch the regular season LSMC championship.
Win or lose, the Lady Highlanders will take the top seed into the tournament and plan not to be gracious hosts on the floor during the two-day, Feb. 18 and Feb. 20, tourney in Highlands.
The regular season hasn’t concluded yet with the Lady Bobcats traveling to Highlands on Friday to close out their 2019-20 schedule. Regardless of the outcome, the conference standings remain unaffected as Hiwassee and BREC will be in either second or third place and will face each other again in the tournament’s first round. Top-seeded Highlands will face Nantahala, the number four seed.
For Lady Highlanders coach Jacob Page, early February is his favorite time of the year.
“It’s a very exciting time in basketball,” he said. “We’re glad to have clinched the number one seed. I am very proud of my team.”
Page added, the regular season and conference tournament is just the beginning.
“We still have a lot more goals that we want to accomplish before the season is over and winning the conference tournament is one of them,” he said. “We are going to have to come focused and execute.”
Blue Ridge sits in second place with a 3-2 league record, thanks to a win over Hiwassee Dam on Tuesday night. Hiwassee Dam is 2-3 in conference play.
The seeding in the tournament is important for the Lady Bobcats as the N.C. High School Athletics Association takes seeding into consideration when extending invitations to its state tournament.
Lady Bobcats Coach Tim Mayse said his team’s numbers this season warrant consideration.
“We are 16-5 right now and we are one of the top scoring teams in the state for 1-A,” he said. “We hope to make a run in the tournament and the state playoffs. We have a great group of athletes to coach. They play hard and want to compete at all times.”
On the boys’ side of the bracket, Highlands will take on Nantahala in the tournament semifinals. The two teams split a pair of regular-season meetings with each team winning on its home floor.
Top-seeded Hiwassee Dam is undefeated in league play and will battle winless BREC for the right to advance.
On Tuesday, Feb. 18, the opening day of the tournament, the schedule is as follows:
4 p.m. – Varsity girls semifinals between BREC and Hiwassee Dam
5:30 p.m. – Varsity boys semifinals pitting top seed Hiwassee Dam and BREC.
7 p.m. – Highlands girls semifinal against Nantahala.
8:30 p.m. – Highlands boys semifinals and Nantahala.
On championship Thursday, Feb. 20., Highlands boys and girls JV teams will face Hiwassee Dam for the JV LSMC championship. JV girls tip off at 4 p.m. and boys at 5:30 p.m.
In the nightcap, the varsity girls championship begins at 7 p.m. and boys at 8:30 p.m.