Lady Huskies Win Holiday Classic, Push Win Streak to Five

By Joel Frady

Ashe County Wins High Point Holiday Classic

The Ashe County High School Girl's Basketball team meant business when they traveled south for the High

Point Holiday Classic. They started with a 50-28 victory over Wesleyan Christian Academy in the first round, then battled their way through Andrews High School for a 40-38 win in the semifinal round.

But the final game pitted the Huskies against tournament host High Point Central. The game got off to a terrible start, but head coach Laura Foster said her team stuck together.

"The girls played great," she said. "The championship game we were down 17 at half and we had all the odds against us: we were on the road against a team we've beaten before, at their place."

But the tide turned, thanks to 31 points from Mallary Clay, and Ashe County was able to claw their way back and take the game and the tournament, 65-60.

"My girls just gutted it out in the second half, got down as many as 20 but just kept plugging along and taking it a possession at a time," said Foster. "We picked up the intensity on the defensive end, created some turnovers and were able to make free throws down the stretch. It was just an absolutely amazing week."

Foster added that "Mallary had a good tournament, but she had an outstanding championship game. She played well on the offensive end and the defensive end. She set the tone on our press and was real active."

With the win, the Huskies came back to West Jefferson for their conference match-up against North Surry as champions.

"Aside from giving us momentum heading into this conference game, it also gave us confidence," said Foster. "Beating a team of the player-for-player speed that High Point Central has, and beating them the way we beat them - it's a momentum boost and a shot of confidence."

Huskies Tame Greyhounds, 46-38

The momentum from the tournament continued over into the Huskies' match against North Surry on Friday, Jan. 2. Although Ashe County was down early, trailing 10-9 after the first period, the Huskies used a late first-half spurt to take a 24-22 lead into the half - a lead they wouldn't surrender for the rest of the game.

North Surry kept it close throughout the second half, only trailing by two points after the third quarter, but was unable to score in the final quarter. Ashe County held the Greyhounds to four points in the fourth to secure a 46-38 victory and post a winning conference record for the first time this season.

"This was a huge game for us and an even bigger win for us," said Foster. "It puts us 2-1 in the conference. North Surry is a team that we've not been able to beat in two years - they ran the table in the league and went 12-0 the last two years. It's been nip and tuck each year, but we've been on the losing side of it."

She noted that she "got good minutes out of everyone that went in" and the team "had overall good play," but the game also illustrated some areas for Foster to focus on in practice.

"I think we're back to shooting the free throws again," said Foster. "We shot very poorly from the line, and we had a lot of opportunities for offensive putbacks and were unable to capitalize. We've just got to continue to stay with our shots, legs under us, and focus." She added that the players also need to "not put so much pressure" on themselves from the free throw line.

"You don't feel good about your free throw shooting," Foster said of the game, "but you feel good about the win."

The Huskies' will put their five-game winning streak to the test on January 7, when they host Avery High School. The first match between the two teams, a 65-50 win in Newland on Dec. 5, was Avery's first game of the season and much closer game than the final score would indicate (the Huskies only led by four, 44-40, after three quarters).

Foster noted that Avery is well-coached, but that "if we do what we're supposed to do, I like our chances. Our team, they play hard and they play together and they're unselfish, and that's what you like to see as a coach."

After the game against Avery, the Huskies will travel to North Wilkes in Hays on Friday, Jan. 9, and to Aleghany High School in Sparta on Tuesday, Jan. 13.