Ashe County Girls Push Record Win Streak to 12

By Joel Frady

Girls hold off Eagle comeback for 47-39 win
The Ashe County High School varsity girl's basketball team set a new school record for consecutive wins on

Wednesday, Jan. 21, but only after the Wilkes Central Eagles mounted a comeback in Wilkesboro.

After taking an early lead and staying in front for the entire first half, it appeared that the Huskies were going to cruise to an easy win midway through the third quarter. Ashe County, up 21-15 at the half, went on a 13-5 run at the beginning of the second half thanks to eight points by senior Kendra Yearick. But the Eagles fought back, cutting the 14-point lead in half in a span of two minutes.

The Eagles pulled within two points, 37-35, with 4:47 remaining in the game before Ashe County senior Shelley Barker found a hot hand. Barker scored nine points in a two-and-a-half minute span to push the lead back to 46-37. Wilkes Central only scored four points in the final five minutes as the Huskies sealed the 47-39 victory.

Ashe County Head Coach Laura Foster said "it was a helter-skelter type game where we played just the way they wanted us to play.

"I felt like in the first half and in glimpses of the third quarter, I thought we played just frantic," said Foster. "And I don't like to play like that and we shouldn't play like that, but we did win."

The win was a school-record tenth in a row for the Huskies, whose only loss of the season was a 69-68 heartbreaker at Starmount in Ashe County's first conference game.

After the game, Foster said "We feel good about being 5-1 [in the Mountain Valley conference]. Obviously, the loss at Starmount is still eating at us."

Foster noted, however, that the team continues to struggle from the free throw line. The Huskies were 13-of-30 from the line against Wilkes Central.

"We've got to keep shooting our free throws," said Foster. "Our free throws are our Achilles Heel. I told them that if we can't shoot free throws any better than what we're doing, we're not going to win the conference."

Huskies coast to victory at Surry Central
When Surry Central visited West Jefferson on Dec. 22, a match with the Golden Eagles was exactly what Ashe County needed. Three days removed from the loss at Starmount, the Huskies dominated Surry Central in every facet of the game en route to a 76-25 victory.

Although the Huskies' margin of victory in Friday night's 62-43 victory was much closer, the game represented more of the same for a Surry Central team that was down 41-14 at the half and trailed by as much as 30. The Golden Eagles ended the game on a 10-1 run to cut the final margin to 19.

"I was pleased, especially in the first half," said Foster. "We came out with a renewed energy and everybody played with a lot of confidence."

Despite the winning streak, Foster said that she has been telling her players to play with more confidence.

"I don't have a problem with them having a big head," she later added. "I sometimes think that our kids don't think they're good enough. Believe this or not, and I know people think this is crazy, but I don't think we play with enough confidence. We need to realize that we are good and not be hesitant."

With Friday's victory, Ashe County moved to 6-1 on the year in the Mountain Valley conference. Foster noted that she has a "full, healthy squad" and believes that "if we bring our tough-minded self and stay focused, I like our chances."

Girls even season series with Starmount
Over a month and 11 wins removed from their 69-68 away loss to the Starmount Rams, Ashe County was ready for the rematch on Tuesday, Jan. 27, in West Jefferson.

Much like their match on Dec. 19 in Boonville, the game featured a handful of ties, lead changes and suspense. Unlike the first match, Ashe County came out on top.

Ashe County took advantage early, jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the first three-and-a-half minutes of the first quarter.

But the Rams found their rhythm on both sides of the ball as the quarter progressed and were able to pull within two by quarter's end.

Starmount jumped out fast in the second quarter, taking a 13-12 lead in the first minute. Ashe County scored four to regain the lead, 16-13, before the Rams scored four of their own to go up 19-16.

The Starmount lead wouldn't last, however, as Ashe County scored seven unanswered points to take a 23-19 lead late in the quarter and a 25-21 lead to the locker room.

The back-and-forth nature of the game continued in the second half, with one small difference: almost all of Starmount's offense came from sophomore Kelli Bonner. She scored 23 points in the half and the first 20 for Starmount - no one else scored for the team until the 1:56 mark of the fourth quarter.

As it turned out, Bonner's offense was enough to keep the game tight. The Huskies were able to push the lead to six at 29-23 early in the third on four quick points from senior Kendra Yearick, But Bonner scored 10 points in the next three minutes, including a jumper to tie the game at 33 late in the third quarter.

Fpster called a timeout seconds later, and the Huskies returned to the floor on fire. Four different players helped the team hit a 7-0 run in the quarter's final minutes for a 40-33 lead.

Sophomore Mariah McVey scored early in the fourth to give Ashe County a nine-point lead, but then the Huskies got cold. They were unable to score for almost four minutes, and Bonner used a three-point shot and three-point play to cut the lead to three at 42-39.

Yearick and McVey then hit back-to-back three-point shots to push the margin back to nine with 2:10 remaining in the game

Starmount began to foul, but the Huskies' weren't able to seal the deal quickly. They went four-for-12 from the line in the final two minutes and missed sox of the last seven. The Rams answered with 10 points to cut the lead to 52-49.

Starmount got the ball back with nine seconds on the clock, but Bonner missed a three that could have forced overtime.

Foster said that "it feels good to be 17-1 and to beat the only them that has beaten us.

She noted that the players "feel like they showed Starmount the real Ashe County.

Foster noted, however, that she was concerned by the final two minutes.

"The coach in me is still concerned about our free throw shooting and the way we managed the clock down the stretch," she said.

With the win, the Huskies increased their team-record winning streak to 12.

"I'm sitting in a position I've never been in," said Foster. "I've told my girls to keep doing what got us here, by outworking and playing on the defensive end."

The Huskies will hit the road later this week, playing at West Wilkes in Miller's Creek on Wednesday, Jan. 28, and at North Surry in Mount Airy on Friday, Jan. 30. They will return to West Jefferson on Monday, Feb. 2, against West Wilkes.

Admission to all home games is $5, and the varsity girls tip off at approximately 6:30 p.m. Anyone unable to attend any of the games can tune into the action on WKSK 580 AM.

To find out more, contact Ashe County High School at (336) 846-2400.