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Cetera DeGraffenreid breaks own school scoring mark with 47 points
The numbers keep changing, but the name stays the same.
Cetera DeGraffenreid broke her own school scoring record with 47 points Friday in Smoky Mountain’s 80-42 rout at Tuscola.
DeGraffenreid outscored the Lady Mountaineers by herself.
It’s the fourth time in the junior’s career that she has scored 45 or more points.
“Cetera had another great performance,” Coach Cindi Simmons said. “Her hard work continues to pay off. We moved her inside some and let her post up. Our players did a good job of getting her the ball. A lot of her opportunities were the result of her good defensive play.”
DeGraffenreid also had 16 rebounds, eight steals and seven assists.
Her nine pass deflections helped her win the Hammer Award given for a combination of hustle stats.
DeGraffenreid wasn’t aware how close she was to the record until just before she broke it.
“I really didn’t know I had that many points (23) in the first half,” DeGraffenreid said. “I was surprised when they told me I had 46.”
DeGraffenreid said she felt the game was one of the best performances of her career although not as good as last year when she had 46 against East Henderson.
As for her season goals, it’s simple. “Stay undefeated,” she said.
The subject of an intense recruiting battle, DeGraffenreid said she has narrowed her choices to Atlantic Coast Conference schools, other schools in North Carolina and the University of Georgia. She plans to take official visits during the summer.
Brooke Coward paced Tuscola with 14 points.
“I was real proud of our team,” Simmons said. “Tuscola has always played us very tough in the past. They have a real strong front line.”
Part of the reason for moving point guard DeGraffenreid inside was the absence of center Ashley Robinson, who did not play due to illness.
SM got off to a slow start and trailed 8-3 on Aubrey Ray’s basket with 5:08 to go in the first period.
DeGraffenreid scored seven straight points giving the Lady Mustangs a 10-8 edge at the 3:19 mark.
Tasha Junaluska came off the bench to provide a spark for SM. Her three-pointer with 1:17 on the clock gave her team the lead for good at 13-12. She added two more treys before the quarter ended with the Lady Mustangs on top 21-16.
DeGraffenreid’s eight points keyed an 11-2 run for a 35-24 margin following Amy Haggard’s foul shot with 2:10 to go in the half. She added the final six points before intermission sending her team to the dressing room ahead 43-27.
DeGraffenreid came out smoking in the third stanza with the first 11 points for a 54-27 lead. Including in that span were a pair of three-pointers and a three-point play.
DeGraffenreid had six points in a 9-0 run upping the lead to 66-34 with 1:03 to go in the third stanza, which ended with SM on top 66-36.
The game’s biggest lead was 77-37 as Jordan Mason’s free throw capped a 10-0 spurt, including six by DeGraffenreid.
She set the scoring record by making one of two foul shots for a 78-40 lead at the 2:32 mark.
DeGraffenreid made 17 of 27 field goals, including four three-pointers.
Junaluska finished with nine points, Haggard followed with seven, Ashley Coggins added six, Kelli Woodard and Brandi Anders both scored four and Mason had three.
Junaluska dished out four assists.
The Lady Mustang JVs crushed Tuscola 46-13. They led at quarter breaks by scores of 9-4, 17-7 and 31-9.
The game was played with a running clock and 10-minute quarters. The clock stopped only in the last minute of the first half and the last two minutes of the game. Coach Ollin Dunford said the reason was so the varsity games would not run late as there was concern about icing that had closed school for both teams that day.
Jordan Cagle scored 11 points.
“My whole team played well,” Dunford said. “We stated off a little rusty, but after we got use to the running clock they played like the Lady Mustangs I know.”
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