The Elizabethton girls basketball team took care of business in the fourth quarter on Friday.
The Lady Cyclones pulled away for a 50-38 victory over Unicoi County inside Treadway Gymnasium in Three Rivers action. The Cyclones rallied from a first-quarter deficit to take a 70-65 victory in the boys game.
For Elizabethton girls, it was a tight battle from the onset.
McKendra Norris had a pair of big buckets while Kaylen Shell and Jordan Owen hit added a 3-pointer a piece as the Lady Cyclones and Lady Blue Devils played to an 11-11 tie through a quarter of play. Torrie Roberts added a pair of 3-pointers in the second stanza as EHS eeked out a 25-24 lead at the half.
In the third quarter, points were at a premium, but Morgan Headrick had an answer for EHS. Headrick scored nine points in the frame while the Lady Cyclones held UC to just eight points. That allowed Elizabethton to take a 36-32 lead into the final quarter. From there, EHS secured the game with a solid performance as they doubled up the Blue Devils to erase any thoughts fo a comeback.
Shell tallied 13 points to lead Elizabethton, while Headrick had 12 points. Roberts added eight points.
In the boys’ game, Elizabethton had to battle back from an early gap.
Unicoi used a quick start to take a 20-11 lead after a quarter of play. The Cyclone offense got things rolling in the second stanza as Parker Hughes, Nico Ashley and Evan Perkins hit key shots as EHS outscored the visitors 21-12 in the frame to even things up at the break.
Carter Everett scored five points in the third quarter to lead the five Cyclones who scored points in the frame, and the EHS defense limited the Blue Devils as Elizabethton too a five-point lead into the final quarter. The final eight minutes saw the teams trade shots as Elizabethton held on for the win – going 10-of-12 from the free throw line to secure the victory.
Eric Wilson led the way with 18 points, while Ashley had 15 points. Perkins and Hughes tallied 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Unicoi was paced by Brock Thompson and Gavin Casey who scored 19 and 18 points, respectively.
