Third place in tourney for HVA girls; beat MHS
HARDIN VALLEY — Steady as it goes for the Hardin Valley Academy Lady Hawks basketball team, coming out of a super top-heavy District 4-4A Tournament with a third-place finish.
Jumping ahead of No. 4 tourney seed Maryville 37-19 at the half of the tourney consolation game Monday night, Feb. 24, the No. 3-seeded Lady Hawks (15-17 overall) struggled offensively in the third quarter and saw the Lady Red Rebels rally.
Another Maryville push cut the lead to five, 48-43, with 54 seconds to play. But behind All-District 4-4A and All-Tourney honoree Kendra West, senior point guard, Hardin Valley held off MHS for a 53-44 victory.
In fact, it was West’s 18 first-half points that sparked the big lead. “I thought Kendra did a good job running the team,” said HVA head coach Jennifer Galloway, as West ended with a game-high 25 points. “She wanted the ball in her hands.”
“I’m really proud of our team,” West said. “I think coming out in third place is really good for us.”
Overall, “I felt we were very disciplined defensively,” Galloway said. “In the second half we had some trouble — not necessarily putting the ball in the hole — but just getting attempts. They changed a little bit defensively and we turned it over a few times.”
Other Lady Hawks scorers were senior wings Ava Claire Wrather and Bella Buccola, and Kamiyah Love, senior post, who each ended with eight. Kamryn Butcher, senior guard also named All-Tournament, scored seven, with Holly Lindsey adding a free throw.
Though Lady Red Rebels guard Zoee Harrison led her team in points with 14, “I thought Kamryn did a phenomenal job guarding (Harrison),” Galloway said.
As a Region 2-4A No. 3 seed, HVA will travel to Campbell County, 3-4A runner-up (7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 28).
