The Highlands Lady Highlanders stood a win away from clinching the Little Smoky Mountain Conference regular season championship with a hard-fought 38-31 win over archrival Blue Ridge Early College.
A pair of conference games remain, one being a rematch with the Lady Bobcats at home on Feb. 8. With a 4-0 conference record, the Lady Highlanders have clinched at least a tie for the top spot in the LSMC regular season. A win against either Nantahala on Tuesday, or next week at home Feb. 8 and Highlands clinches its first LSMC conference championship under Coach Jacob Page.
In 2019, the Lady Highlanders were upset by Blue Ridge in the opening round of the LSMC Tournament.
Page said he was proud of his team’s defensive play.
“The girls played great defensively, Page said. It wasn’t the prettiest game, but Blue Ridge is a tough place to play. Any time you can go on the road and get a victory, it is a good day.”
For Highlands, Hayley Borino and Julia May Schmitt led the Lady Highlanders offense. Borino topped all scorers with 12 points and Schmitt added 10 points to pace Highlands. Ezra Branham chipped in eight points and Jordan Carrier followed with seven.
BREC Coach Tim Mayse said both teams stepped up to the challenge in what has become known as a bi-annual slugfest.
At 2-2 in the Little Smoky Mountain Conference and battling with Hiwassee Dam for second place, the Lady Bobcats needed a win against Highlands to help solidify their hold on the second spot.
“Tuesday’s game was a hard-fought game,” Mayse said. “Both teams were evenly matched and both teams played well defensively… great defense throughout the game.”
Because the Lady Bobcats’ total offensive output of 31 points was less than the 35 points junior Charlotte Sherrill scored the week before when she joined BREC’s 1,000 Point Club. Mayse said the tone of the game made it difficult for both sides.
“Offensively, it was a struggle for both sides, which was surprising to me,” he said. “We weren’t able to get into a rhythm and didn’t get into transition as much as we would like to.”
Sherrill and little sister Mahalah Stewart led the Lady Bobcats with nine points each in the low-scoring game.
Highlands 47, Hayesville 41
The Lady Highlanders made it six wins in their last seven games with a win over the visiting Lady Yellowjackets, holding on 47-41 Monday. Highlands took a 25-13 lead into the locker room at the half, but saw that lead evaporate with an ice cold third quarter where Hayesville battled back to tie the score 32-32 with a minute left in the quarter.
“At this point in the season, every win is big right now,” Page said. “Our defense proved to be the difference. We made the big plays when we needed it. I’m very proud of the way these girls played.”
Jordan Carrier led all scorers with 17 points, including 9-11 from the foul line. Kedra McCall followed with 11. Ezra Branham added eight and Reese Schmitt seven to pace Highlands.
With the win HHS improved to 11-10 overall and 4-0 in the LSMC.
Highlands 76, Nantahala 36
The Highlands girls basketball team beat Nantahala, clinching its first Little Smoky Mountain Championship under coach Jacob Page with a 73-36 win on Tuesday night.
In 2017-18, the Lady Highlanders earned a co-championship tie with Hiwassee Dam with 5-1 marks.
Page was proud of his team, saying they have worked hard all season for this.
“I am glad that their hard work has paid off,” he said. “Hopefully we can carry this momentum for the last couple of regular season games and into the postseason.”
Going into the LSMC Tournament, which Highlands will host. The Highlanders will get the top seed and also earned an automatic bid to the N.C. High School Athletic Association tournament.
Boys
Highlands 67,
BREC 44
In the nightcap, Highlands hit the ground running, blowing out of the starting gate at a 15-2 clip in the game’s first eight minutes and won going away 67-44 to solidify its grip on second place at 2-2 behind Hiwassee Dam at 4-0. The Bobcats dropped to 0-4 in the LSMC.
Highlands Coach Brett Lamb said the big first quarter lead helped his team control the game’s pace.
“We set the tempo early with our pressure defense and took a good lead that we never let go of,” he said. “We used our height advantage to get some inside baskets that helped us pull away from them.
For the Highlanders, Gig Chalker poured in 12 points and Connor Briggs chipped in 11 to pace the opposition.
Jacob Pressler knocked down 14 points and Caleb Fugate added nine to lead the Bobcats offense.
Hayesville 57, Highlands 50
The Highlanders boys team fell 57-50 to Hayesville to fall to 7-14 on the season.
Reid Carrier led the Highlands charge with 14 points, with Connor Briggs adding 10. Ethan Tate chipped in nine points, Gig Chalker eight and Dillon Schmitt seven for the Highlanders.
Coach Brett Lamb said Hayesville is one of the top teams in the area with a 19-2 mark and the Yellowjackets are the leader in the Big Smoky Mountain Conference.
“For us to put ourselves with a chance to win was a great job by our kids,” he said.
Highlands will host Cherokee on Friday night.