It’s been a frustrating year for fans of Abingdon boys and girls basketball.
The Falcons have been handicapped by tight losses, injuries and illness. But the catharsis came Friday in a big way.
In the early game of the quad marathon, the AHS girls snapped their 19-game losing streak with a 51-46 decision over the rival John Battle Trojans.
Then late Friday night, the AHS boys cruised to a 70-39 victory.
“Our team has so much potential,” said Falcons boys boss B.J. Lasley. “We’ve faced all sorts of adversity but these kids have just kept battling.”
Behind a smothering defense and solid rebounding, Lasley’s crew ended the Washington County war early by opening leads of 10-1 and 24-8.
“We did a great job defensively and were able to get a cushion,” Lasley said. “We did some good thing on both ends of the floor as the game went on.
Six-foot-five junior Mack Owens and sharp-shooting sophomore guard Josh Hess each scored 15 points for AHS (7-13) while 6-foot-5 senior Joey Blevins added 11.
“We had a couple more kids out tonight with sickness but we bonded together and got good play off the bench,” Lasley said.
Alex Posey led Battle (10-7) with 12 points. Lasley said he was worried about Battle, which hit a landmark by winning its 10th game Tuesday.
“We talked a lot about Battle coming in,” Lasley said. “They’ve won a lot of games and beat some good teams.
“The basketball season is a marathon. We’ve had our share of adversity but hopefully our kids will start to see their hard work pay off now.”
GIRLS
Abingdon 51, Battle 46
The hero for the AHS girls was powerful 6-foot senior Katelyn Stewart.
Dominating the low block, Stewart delivered a career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds.
“We’ve been so close in games and we just haven’t been able to finish,” Stewart said. “But we kept working and we finally pulled through this time. “
Battle (5-13) took a 17-16 lead at the 5:20 mark of the second quarter. There was just no stopping Stewart, who continually cashed in on crisp entry passes from aggressive Madison Turner.
“I was in the zone and ready for anything,” said Stewart, who averages nine rebounds per game. “I think now that we have this first win that more wins will come.”
Defense and hustle were the keys for AHS, as Kayla Hilt set the tone with her attacking style on the perimeter.
“Some nights we can’t put the ball in the hole, but our defense effort is always there. And we played tremendous defense tonight,” first-year AHS coach Jimmy Brown said. “We count on Kayla to lead us on defense in every game.”
The Falcons received a salute from the large crowd after the long-awaited breakthrough.
“It feels great and I’m glad for the girls, but I’m going to enjoy it for about 10 minutes and then start getting ready for next Friday’s game,” Brown said.
Chloe Harris scored 12 points for Battle, which made just 12 of 25 free throw attempts.
“We missed seven free throws there in the fourth quarter. You can’t win shooting like that,” Battle coach Kevin Perrigan said. “We didn’t play very good at all.”
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