A furious Unaka rally came up short on Friday night.
The Lady Rangers came up short in a 47-41 decision at North Greene. In the boys’ game, the Rangers were unable to answer a late run as North Greene took a 65-38 run.
For the Lady Rangers, they had to overcome a slow start.
North Greene held Unaka to just two points in the opening eight minutes to take a 13-2 lead.
The Lady Rangers battled back in the second with key shots from Lyndie Ramsey and Jill Faust, but NG maintained a 20-13 advantage at the half.
After North Greene pushed the lead to 27-17 to open the third quarter. Unaka battled back as Haley Taylor and Keyena Hagile hit shots to cut the deficit to five.
A quick Lady Huskies run pushed the lead to 34-24 after three complete quarters.
Unaka methodically cut into the lead to open the fourth quarter as Ramsey scored seven points over the opening minutes of the fourth.
A Ramsey trey with just over two minutes to play cut the gap to four points and a free throw with 16 seconds left closed the gap to two points.
However, North Greene secured the win at the free-throw line.
Ramsey finished with 24 points. Taylor had six points, while Faust finished with five points.
It was a tight battle for the first half in the boys’ game.
The opening quarter saw the teams trade shots in the opening quarter. Landon Ramsey scored six points in the opening quarter, while Brayden Powell, Marcus Shomaker, and Joe-Z Blamo also hit shots in the frame. North Greene hit a buzzer-beater to take a 14-12 lead after a quarter of play.
Unaka was limited early in the second quarter but kept fighting. Johnny Douglas hit a 3-pointer to cap a run that pulled the Rangers within three, but North Greene answered and took a 27-23 lead into the half.
In the third quarter, Mason Wilson hit a 3-pointer to counter the opening shot from the Huskies. However, NG went on a 26-2 run to end the quarter and take control
Unaka continued to battle but was unable to rally back.
Ramsey had 18 points to lead Unaka, while Douglas had six points. Powell ended the night with five points.
