It was a pair of battles between Unaka and Hampton on Tuesday night.
The Lady Rangers outlasted Hampton for a 44-42 win while the Bulldogs used a third-quarter run to move to a 55-42 win over the Rangers inside Hampton Elementary.
In the girls’ game, Unaka jumped out to an 8-2 lead over five minutes of play before Hampton scored four straight points to close the Lady Ranger deficit to 8-6 after a quarter of play.
The teams traded shots to open the second quarter before Unaka used a 7-2 run to take a six-point lead. Hampton, however, ended the half on a 4-0 run to take a 23-21 lead at the half.
Faye Carrico opened the second half with a bucket for Hampton, but the Lady Rangers went on an 11-1 run sparked by three 3-pointers from Michelle Shields as well as key buckets from Brooklyn Campbell and Keyona Hague.
That pushed the Unaka lead to 34-26 after three complete quarters.
The Lady Rangers pushed the lead to 10 points early in the final quarter, but Hampton slowly battled back. Carrico hit key shots, and shots from Hannah Smith and Piper Helle added points to close the Unaka lead to one point.
After Shields added a free throw, the Lady Rangers were able to secure the win in the closing seconds.
Shields led Unaka with 27 points, while Campbell added seven points. Hague scored four points.
Carrico had 14 points to lead Hampton. Helle scored 13 points, while Smith scored seven points.
In the boys’ game, the first quarter saw the teams trade runs to open the game. After Unaka took a 7-6 lead after a Rylan Crabtree old-fashioned 3-point play. Hampton went on an 8-2 run including shots from Chase Davenport and Bryce Fagan to push the Bulldogs to a 14-9 lead.
Mason Wilson and Crabtree sparked a 10-2 Unaka run to give the Rangers a 19-16 lead after a quarter of play.
Caden Davis and Davenport sparked the Bulldogs with shots to regain the lead, but Aiden Walsh and Austin Lambert responded for Unaka to give the Rangers a 31-29 lead at the break.
In the third quarter, Jackson Smith hit three early shots, while C. Smith and Davenport added points as Hampton started the frame on a 12-2 run. Unaka battled back with shots from John Hardin and Walsh to close the gap to 43-37 heading to the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs answered once again with a quick run to open the quarter and held the Rangers off to secure the win.
C. Davis had 13 points to lead Hampton, while Davenport finished with 12 points. Jayden Nave scored nine points.
Bryce Fagan scored eight points in his return from injury.
Crabtree led Unaka with 10 points. Hardin and Wilson scored eight points apiece, while Lambert added six points.
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