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Lady Mustangs win sectional basketball title
Playing perhaps its best game of the season, Smoky Mountain’s women’s basketball team rolled to a 68-48 win over defending Western Regional champion East Rutherford and the West 2-A Sectional 3 championship Friday at East Burke.
The Lady Mustangs (27-0) earned a spot in the Western Regionals at Joel Coliseum in Winston-Salem.
Cetera DeGraffenreid led the way with 32 points and 11 rebounds. She also had five assists, five steals and four blocked shots.
Tasha Junaluska added 12 points while Kelli Woodard had 10 points and six rebounds.
Karess Mayse scored 12 points for the Lady Cavaliers. Quanette Hughes followed with 11, and Kyra Battle had 10.
“We came out and set the tone for the game early on,” Coach Cindi Simmons said. “We executed well offensively throughout the game. It was important to get an early lead because they had a lot of scoring threats.”
The Lady Mustangs jumped on East from the start and never looked back. DeGraffenreid hit two three-pointers and scored her team’s first eight points.
Junaluska nailed a pair of treys late in the period for a 20-10 margin at the quarter break.
The closest the Lady Cavs came after that was 26-20 when Hughes scored on an inbounds play with 4:03 to go in the half.
Woodard converted a fast break layup, and DeGraffenreid had a pair of baskets upping the margin to 32-20 at the 2:07 mark.
The lead was 35-24 at intermission.
Eight straight points, including four by DeGraffenreid, built the margin to 46-28 with 5:29 to play in the third stanza. Her basket with 3:54 on the clock put SM up 52-32.
The Lady Mustangs then endured their only scoring drought of the night as they had just one point the rest of the quarter and went more than five minutes without a field goal.
A strong defensive effort allowed SM to maintain a comfortable lead and take a 53-38 advantage into the fourth quarter.
DeGraffenreid had four in an 8-2 spurt as the offense got back on track for a 61-42 lead at the 5:32 mark.
Junaluska’s fourth trey of the game made it 64-44 with 4:32 to play.
“We put together a good defensive game,” Simmons said. “Ashley Robinson and Kelli teamed up to do a good job on their physical post players.”
Woodard pulled down six rebounds. Robinson had five boards and four blocks.
DeGraffenreid hit 12 field goals, including a trio of three-pointers, and five foul shots. All of Junaluska’s 12 points came on four treys. Woodard made four field goals and two free throws.
Amy Haggard finished with nine points, and Robinson had five.
DeGraffenreid and Robinson shared the Hammer Award for hustle stats. DeGraffenreid had 11 deflections, nine loose balls, five steals and four blocks. Robinson had four blocks, three lose balls, three deflections, two steals and an offensive rebound.
“Tasha really gave us a lift off the bench with her outside shooting,” Simmons said. “Amy hit some big shots and had a solid performance. Cetera controlled the game and created opportunities for herself and her teammates.”
SM advances
Smoky Mountain rallied from a nine-point deficit midway through the third quarter to defeat North Surry 51-43 in the sectional semifinals Feb. 22 at the SM gym.
DeGraffenreid scored 28 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Lady Mustangs. She also had four assists and three blocks.
Whitley Culler paced the Lady Greyhounds with 16 points, and Alisha Wallace added 12.
“We survived a disciplined team,” Coach Cindi Simmons said. “They were very fundamentally sound.”
She called time out when her team was down by nine points, and things quickly turned around.
“We picked up the intensity defensively,” Simmons said. “We talked about playing better team defense, switching on some screens and denying the pass inside.”
North ran off eight straight points, including four by Kelly Hicks, for a 32-23 advantage with 4:53 to play in the third stanza.
SM reeled off the final 11 points of the period as the Lady Greyhounds went scoreless for six minutes. DeGraffenreid had six in the spurt, and Haggard scored five. Haggard’s short jumper in the lane capped the run putting the Lady Mustangs on top 34-32 with 1:02 on the clock.
A three-pointer by Junaluska gave SM a 39-34 edge with 6:13 left in the game.
North roared back with an 8-2 run, including four by Culler, to go up 42-41 at the 3:20 mark.
DeGraffenreid answered with a three-pointer 10 seconds later, and Haggard had a steal and layup for a 46-42 lead at the 3:10 mark. Those baskets were part of a game-closing 10-2 spurt, during which DeGraffenreid had seven.
Woodard made a key play in that stretch with an offensive rebound on a missed free throw. She was fouled on the play and hit both shots helping the Lady Mustangs pull away.
DeGraffenreid scored four points in the first 20 seconds, and SM led 6-0 midway through the first quarter.
North rallied to go up 13-11 following Olivia Ratcliff’s steal and layup with 38 seconds to play and held a 13-12 edge at the quarter break.
Culler scored inside with 4:31 remaining in the half putting the Lady Greyhounds up 15-14, a lead they would maintain until late in the third quarter.
The margin was 22-19 at intermission.
DeGraffenreid hit 12 field goals, including a three-pointer, and three foul shots.
Haggard finished with seven points, Junaluska followed with six, and Woodard and Robinson both had five.
Woodard claimed seven rebounds, and Haggard came up with three steals.
“I’m just proud of our kids,” Simmons said. “We showed a lot of heart.”
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