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Smoky Mountain will open basketball season on Friday
Smoky Mountain’s men’s and women’s basketball teams will open their seasons Friday at Erwin.
The women will play at 6:30 p.m. followed by the men. There will be no JV games.
The next three games – two with Cherokee and one with Murphy – could be postponed due to those teams participating in the state football playoffs.
The Lady Mustangs scrimmaged at home last Thursday against Hayesville. They played six periods and won 96-47.
“We played with a lot of intensity,” Coach Cindi Simmons said. “We moved around defensively, and we ran the court well.”
Another scrimmage was set for Tuesday at Robbinsville.
“We’re going to continue to build on what we saw Thursday,” she said.
Probable starters are junior Cetera DeGraffenreid and senior Ashley Coggins in the backcourt and junior Amy Haggard, freshman Ashley Robinson and either junior Kelli Woodard or junior Brandi Anders up front.
All except Robinson played on last year’s 21-8 team that reached the sectional 3-A finals.
Other returnees include senior Sky Kanott and juniors Laury Brown, Rachel Stewman and Jenna Carpenter. They are joined by senior Tina McDonald, junior Jordan Mason and freshman Tasha Junaluska.
McDonald will not play until sometime after the first of the year due to an ankle injury.
Through her first two seasons, DeGraffenreid has set school scoring records for a game (46), season (756) and career (1,440) as well as steals in a season (174) and career (310).
“We’re optimistic about the season and eager for it to get started,” Simmons said. “I think we’ll be a very competitive team in the new conference.”
Due to realignment, the team will be competing in the 2-A Western Athletic Conference. Fellow WAC members West Henderson, Pisgah and East Henderson are all past state champions at the 3-A level. The league also includes North Henderson and Brevard.
The Mustang men traveled to Hayesville last Thursday for a scrimmage and won 58-42 in four quarters.
Coach Scott Hartbarger noted the Yellow Jackets were missing three players, including one starter, who were still with the football team.
“We started out sharp and were executing our offense,” Hartbarger said. “As the scrimmage went on, we wore down a little bit and started making mental mistakes. I was impressed with our patience on offense.”
He saw areas that need work before Friday’s opener.
“We really need to work on rebounding,” the coach said. “Hayesville got second and third shots on us. We also need to work on handling the press.”
Probable starters include freshman Dillon Dunford and sophomore Martin Davis at guards, with a senior frontcourt of Tyson Crawford, Matt Hawkins and Cory Siler.
The roster also includes seniors Bradley Noble and Carlos Howard, juniors Taylor Gilleland, Dayne Bowers and Josh Jones, and sophomores C.J. Fortner, John Brown and Jordan Panther.
“Practice has been going great,” Hartbarger said. “There’s been a lot of enthusiasm. The kids have a good attitude and have been working hard. We’re about where I thought we’d be at this point, maybe a little bit ahead.”
The Mustangs will be battling defending state champion Pisgah in the new conference. Brevard is also expected to have a strong team.
“The new conference is going to be tough, but I think we have a shot to finish in the top three,” Hartbarger said.
The schedule is as follows:
Nov. 18 – at Erwin (no JVs); 25 – at Cherokee (no JVs); 29 – at Murphy.
Dec. 2 – Cherokee; 3 – Rabun County (Ga.); 9 – at Franklin; 10 – Swain; 16 – at Tuscola; 19 – at Swain; 27 – Erwin; 30 – at Rabun County.
Jan. 3 – Franklin; 6 – at Brevard; 10 – at East Henderson; 13 – at North Henderson; 17 – at West Henderson; 20 – Pisgah; 24 – Tuscola; 27 – Brevard; 31 – East Henderson.
Feb. 3 – North Henderson; 7 – West Henderson; 9 – at Pisgah.
The WAC Tournament will be played at SM the week of Feb. 13.
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