Carroll County Girls Rely On Defense In Southwest District Win Over Abingdon

ABINGDON, Va. – Rhonda Engle had a plan for Friday night.

In fact, the Abingdon girls basketball coach scouted, watched film and studied her opponent all week.

“We knew what we wanted to do, and we were prepared to do it,” Engle said.

Kayla Goins foiled the Engle plan. The versatile five-foot-six junior scored 22 points to guide the Carroll County Cavaliers to a 42-32 victory over AHS.

Carroll County (10-5, 8-0) extended its lead over Falcons (4-2) in the Southwest District standings.

Relying on a 3-2 zone defense, AHS actually took an 11-10 lead in the first quarter. Then the Cavaliers pulled away behind the combination of 5-10 junior Kaitlan Viars (14 rebounds) and Goins.

“Give Carroll County a lot of credit, that’s a very well-coached and fundamentally-sound team,” Engle said.
“If you turn the ball over, [Carroll County] is going to score. They just know what to do with the ball.”

Engle discovered that lesson the hard way late in the third quarter. After AHS closed within 27-26, the Cavaliers used pressure defense to put together a nine-point run.

“Our coach [Marc Motley] told us to hustle more and go after loose balls,” Goins said. “Hustle was the main thing, and Viars took care of the rebounds.”

Motley, in his seventh year as the Cavalier coach, credited the cohesive look of his junior-dominated team to experience.

“Our kids have played together for a long time,” Motley said. “At this point, they just kind of know where each other is going to be before they ever pass the ball.”

No player reached double figures for AHS, which struggled to find working room against the Cavalier pressure.

“We didn’t shoot the ball real well, but I can’t say enough about our defensive effort,” Motley said.
“We gave up 60 points a couple times earlier in the year and I wasn’t happy about that, but we’ve really started to get after it on defense the past five games.”

While the AHS zone hampered the three-point shooting of the Cavaliers, Engle had no answer for Goins.

“Goins is the one of the best players in our district, and she’s the one that hurt us,” Engle said. “She’s effective inside and outside.”

CARROLL COUNTY (42) – Dalton 1, Jones 2, Goins 22, Neely 2, Cornell 5, Martin 2 ,Viars 8. Totals: 13 13-19 42.
ABINGDON (32) – Viers 2, Mitchell 6, Tyler 8, Hawsey 4, Wilson 8, Whitmore 4. Totals: 13 4-8 32.
Carroll Co. 10 13 15 4–42
Abingdon 11 8 9 4–32
3-point goals – CC 3 (Goins 2, Cornell), AHS 2 (Mitchell, Wilson). JV game-AHS won.

BOYS
Abingdon 67, Carroll Co. 48

The boys game was another showcase Abingdon junior Colby Hunt.

The 6-1 guard displayed a varied offensive game en route to 25 points. Hunt’s father formerly coached high school basketball in Kentucky.

“Colby is a good athlete who has basketball in his blood, and he’s spent a lot of time in the gym over the years,” AHS coach B.J. Lasley said. “He shows up to play every game, and he turns it on at the right time.”

Hunt provided an early spark Friday, as the Falcons opened leads of 16-2 and 24-5.

“We focused on getting off to a good start, and we played extremely well in the first quarter,” Lasley said.

Nathaniel Funk (12 points) and Jacob Hess (10) also reached double figures for AHS, which excelled on defense.

Tyler Reavis led the Cavaliers (2-14, 1-6) with 11 points.

AHS is atop the SWD standings with a 6-1 mark.

“We control our own destiny in the district, that’s all you can ask for,” Lasley said.

CARROLL CO. (48) – Shupe 3, Reavis 11, Thompson 11, Frazier 3, Jones 5, Atwood 5, L. Marshall 4, Lanning 6. Totals 17 10-24 48
ABINGDON (67) – Carter 1, Viers 4, Overbay 5, N. Hess 1, Hunt 25, Manning 4, Funk 12, Looney 5, J. Hess 10. Totals 22 18-28 67
Carroll Co. 2 9 21 16–48
Abingdon 12 17 25 13–57
3-point goals – CC 4 (Shupe, Frazier, Lanning 2), AHS 5 (Hunt 3, Funk 2). Technical foul-Reavis.

agregory@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2544