BY LLOYD COMBS
Sports Correspondent
BIRCHLEAF, Va. – It was a game with more whistle stops than a Broadway Local and the Chattanooga Choo-Choo combined.
Despite a slow start, and sloppy play by both teams, Haysi managed to pull away in the second half to a 76-48 win over Hurley in the opening round of the Black Diamond District tournament Tuesday.
The two teams combined to shoot 56 free throws, and commit 54 turnovers and 44 fouls, most of them in the first three quarters of play. Four 3-pointers in an 18-2 run to end the third period, two by Traci Edwards and one each by Jazmine Counts and Sydney Sutherland, staked Haysi (12-8) to a commanding 56-27 lead.
The Tigers forced 33 turnovers. That included 12 in the first quarter, when they struggled to a 10-5 lead.
“We started off slow,” Haysi coach Jessica Owens said. “We forced some turnovers, but we missed a lot of easy shots, and we let Hurley score too easily when they didn’t turn the ball over.
“We beat Hurley both times during the regular season, but we told the girls this game could go either way. They finally started picking it up a little in the second quarter.”
The Tigers advance to a Thursday semifinal game at Hurley against BDD regular season champ Council. Counts, despite foul trouble, led three double-figure scorers for Haysi with 15 points, and added four steals.
Sutherland finished with four 3s and 14 points. Sarah Stiltner added 12 points, and Edwards finished with eight points, all in the second half.
The Rebels (2-17) also had three scorers in double figures. Chelsea Hunt scored 15 points, Ashley Daugherty added a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and senior guard Tara Hall reached double figures for the 13th straight game with 12 points.
It was a disappointing ending to a season in which Hurley showed marked improvement toward the end of the year. The Rebels defeated a good Iaeger, W.Va., squad, and took a lead into the fourth quarter last week against a Twin Valley team that reached the state semifinals last season.
Longtime Hurley coach Harold Horne, who returned to the bench this year after a six-year absence, said turnovers have been the club’s undoing.
“That’s been a problem for us all year, handling the basketball,” Horne said. “But the last two weeks of the season, this team has really improved. They’ve come a long way from where they were.”
Hall had four assists for Hurley. Sutherland and Counts each finished with four assists for the Lady Tigers.
Mishala O’Quinn added nine points for Haysi. The Lady Tigers committed 21 turnovers and went 22-of-36 at the free throw line.
HURLEY (48) – Hunt 4 6-10 15, Hall 5 1-1 12, Allen 0 0-0 0, Justus 1 1-2 3, Endicott 2 0-0 4, Daugherty 4 4-6 12, Ashby 1 0-0 2, Vance 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 12-20 48.
HAYSI (76) – Counts 5 3-6 15, O’Quinn 1 7-10 9, S. Sutherland 4 2-2 14, Stiltner 5 2-4 12, C. Sutherland 0 1-3 1, Hyden 1 2-2 4, M. Sutherland 1 2-2 4, Spangler 1 2-4 4, Hay 2 1-3 5, Edwards 3 0-0 8, Lapp 0 0-0 0. 23 22-36 76.
Hurley 5 14 8 21–48
Haysi 10 21 25 20-76
3-point goals-Hurley 2 (Hall, Hunt), Haysi 8 (S. Sutherland 4, Counts 2, Edwards 2). Total fouls-Hurley 23, Haysi 21. Fouled out-Allen, Hunt, M. Sutherland.
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