Cody Dalton
Sports Writer
APPALACHIA – Appalachia and Pound split their games against one another in Lonesome Pine District action on Friday.
The opening contest saw the Lady Wildcats (10-7, 2-3) stun Appalachia (8-6, 1-4), after a three point shot from Samantha Balthis connected as time expired, 41-40.
The Appalachia boys (9-5, 2-3) earned their victory over Pound (2-15, 1-4) through a hot shooting night. The Bulldogs hit 10 three point baskets, including 3 from Devin Brickey, to seal an 80-33 Lonesome Pine District victory.
BUZZER BEATER GIVES WILDCATS VICTORY
In a game that saw a lot of fouls and turnovers, it was Pound’s Samantha Balthis hitting a three as time expired to give the Wildcat’s a 41-40 LPD victory over the Appalachia Bulldogs.
“This game was a struggle down to the end” said Pound coach Debbi Hale. “We were fortunate to get that three. Neither one of our teams had a really good game. We both struggled both ways and had a lot of turnovers.”
“I thought it was an ugly ball game on both sides,” said Appalachia coach Angela Honeycutt. “We missed too many opportunities and didn’t hit our foul shots. We aren’t a very smart ball club either. We’ve got to play smarter ball and that’s the key.”
Both teams remained close early on in the contest, as Brittany Craft would score the Lady Bulldogs first five points.
Pound had an answer for Craft in the form of Katie Stallard. She would score two baskets of her own. After one quarter, the score was deadlocked at 5-5.
The second quarter so a lot more points than the first. The two teams remained basically dead even. Just before halftime, Pound would go on a 4-0 run to give them a slight lead at 12-11.
Coming out of the halftime break, both teams would continue to remain tight. Appalachia would gain momentum and a lead towards the middle of the quarter. With the score 21-19 in favor of Appalachia, the Lady Bulldogs would go on a 6-0 run and gain the biggest lead of the game.
However, by the end of the quarter, Pound had closed the deficit to just one point, 30-29.
The Lady Wildcats were led by Kayla Balthis, who had 15 points.
Both teams would once again answer each other, basket for basket. However, Appalachia would get two key fouls, make four free throws, and a lay up to give them a five point advantage.
With just over a minute remaining, the Bulldog’s Lauren Howard would score a crucial lay up to make the lead 40-37 and looked to put the game away for good.
However, the Wildcats didn’t give up despite the score. After a made foul shot cut the lead to 40-38, Pound had no choice, but to foul. Fortunately for them, both were missed.
The Wildcat’s moved the ball around with just under 15 seconds to go looking for a shot. Just before the buzzer sounded, Samantha Balthis would shoot and make a three from the corner to give Pound the 41-40 victory.
“The only thing I could think of is that we have to score,” Samantha Balthis said. “I got the ball, shot it, and made it. I feel ten times bigger than I am right now and that says a lot.”
After the game, coach Hale commented on Balthis and the three point shot to win the game.
“She is the one that can hit them,” Hale said. “She leads our team in three pointers. She hit a couple in the game prior to that too.”
HOT SHOOTING GUIDES BULLDOGS TO WIN
In the second game of the night, Appalachia used hot three point shooting to get out to a large lead and stay ahead, beating Pound 80-33.
“Obviously, we played really well, but we are strong where Pound is weak,” said Appalachia coach Pat Jervis. “We get up and down the floor, while they have a strong team. It was a matter of whether they could get us in a half court game or we could get them in a full court game.”
Appalachia used their speed to set the tempo for the game. The first quarter saw the Bulldogs connect on many of their shots while hustling down the floor and pull out to a 15-6 lead after the opening stanza.
Pound continued to play to their inside strength with Erik Bolling. Bolling led the Wildcats with 11 points on the night.
While the Wildcats were within just nine points of Appalachia, the Bulldogs continued to press and run the floor at will. The used a huge 27 point second quarter to jump out to a 42-20.halftime lead.
The second half saw the same as the first, with the Bulldogs moving quickly and spreading the ball around to every player on the court. Eight players scored for the Bulldogs.
Appalachia was nearly perfect from three point range as well. Devin Brickey hit 3 three point shots and scored 15 points. Forrest Stuart and Tyler Hall led Appalachia with 16 points a piece. Both also connected on 2 three pointers in the game.
The fourth quarter marked another big shooting performance by Appalachia, which sealed a 80-33 Lonesome Pine District win.
After the game, coach Jervis complimented his team on their great shooting performance.
“If we shoot well, we can beat just about anybody,” Jervis said. “If we aren’t hitting those outside shots, we are in a world of hurt. Tonight we hit them, played well, and got some steals. We played to our strength tonight and that was the key to the game.”
Pound coach Jack Hamilton declined comment on the game.
BOX SCORES
GIRLS –
Pound (41)
K. Balthis 4 7-11 15, Isaac 0 2-3 2, K. Stallard 5 1-3 11, C. Stallard 0 1-2 5, S. Balthis 3 3-4 12
TOTAL 12 14-23 41
Appalachia (40)
Boyd 0 3-8 3, Craft 4 10-13 18, Estridge 2 2-3 7, Boggs 1 0-0 2, Howard 3 0-1 6, Mullins 2 0-2 4
TOTAL 12 15-27 40
Pound 5 7 17 11 41
Appalachia 5 6 19 10 40
Three-point goals: Appalachia 1 (Estridge); Pound 3 (S. Balthis)
BOYS –
Appalachia (80)
Hall 5 4-4 16, B. Allen 5 2-2 14, F. Stuart 5 4-6 16, Boyd 1 0-2 3, Brickey 6 0-0 15, J. Allen 4 1-1 9, Morelock 1 1-2 3, M. Stuart 0 4-4 4
Pound (33)
Hughes 0 1-2 1, Beverly 1 0-0 2, Mullins 2 0-0 5, Keith 1 0-0 2, Logan 1 0-0 2, Bolling 5 1-1 10, Taylor 2 1-2 6, Branham 1 2-5 4
Pound 6 14 4 9 33
Appalachia 15 27 12 26 80
Three-point goals: Appalachia 10 (Brickey 3, T. Hall 2, Allen 2, F. Stuart 2, Boyd); Pound (Mullins 1, Taylor 1)
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