Unaka saw a back-and-forth bounce the other way on Friday night.
The Lady Rangers saw North Greene hit a basket with three seconds left to hand Unaka a heartbreaking 38-36 loss. In the boys’ game, North Greene took a 65-36 victory.
The girls game had the look of a classic from the opening tip.
Myah Parlier set the tone for Unaka in the opening quarter to help power the Lady Rangers to a 13-10 lead after eight minutes of play. After NG tied the game to open the second, Unaka outscored the Lady Huskies 10-5 the rest of the half to take a 5-point advantage into the half.
Unaka pushed the lead to eight points to open the third quarter, but North Greene got to work.
The Lady Huskies methodically cut into the UHS lead and took a 32-29 lead at the buzzer.
In the fourth quarter, the teams traded the points in a battle.
Sydney Markland tied the game with a 3-pointer, but the Lady Huskies answered to regain the lead on the other side of the court. Savannah Tipton put UHS back in front with 1:30 to play as she hit a pair of free throws. After the Lady Huskies’ Katie Bolton tied the game with a free throw, it set the stage for Katilynn Franklin’s game-winner.
Parlier finished with 12 points, while Cydney Formey had five points. Sarah Tipton, Lexi Garland, Erika Potter, and Sav. Tipton had four points apiece. Markland finished with three points.
Jacinth Crawford had 13 points to lead NG. The victory was the 300th win of North Greene Head Coach James Buchanan career.
For the Rangers, points were hard to come by on the road.
After the Huskies took a 12-6 lead in the first quarter, Unaka saw Isaac Hill, Ryan Johnson, and Austin Drew hit shots, but North Greene extended the lead to 32-14 at the half.
From there, North Greene took control in the second half and never looked back.
Davey Ensor and Hill had seven points apiece, while Blake King and Will Sexton had six points apiece.
