Lady Hawks grounded in district loss
Those were on prime display Tuesday, Jan. 6, as HVA dismantled Jefferson County 55-45 in a non-district affair. That night, three players hit double digits in the scorebook: Marley Edwards (15), Holly Lindsey (11) and Audrey Riehn (10).
But three days later, on Friday, Jan. 9, Galloway saw a different version of her team in a 47-29 district loss against Lenoir City. The Lady Panthers took control early and never let up, totaling three double-digit scorers against the Lady Hawks: Rylee Boling (12), Kymbal Williams (11) and Kara Gresham (11).
Meanwhile, Alaina Lineberry led HVA with 9 points with 6 each from Edwards and Sarah Galloway.
“I can’t share all of what I said, but the main message is that we got out of playing Hardin Valley basketball, and we’re better than what we showed,” Galloway said. “We can’t wait until the fourth quarter to start doing some things. We have to be the aggressor first and can’t wait to feel it out.”
It was a tough outing for a youthful group, as Hardin Valley features 12 players who are freshmen or sophomores with just two juniors listed on the team.
With that ratio, the future is laid out in two separate points.
“I think our future is bright, and we are excited about that,” Galloway said. “But our future is also next week, so we are preparing for that, too.”
Lineberry, a sophomore, gave a glimpse of that future Friday when she drew a foul and clapped as she strode to the charity stripe.
A few feet away, the Lady Hawks cheered as Lineberry prepared to loft two free throws.
“She got in foul trouble early, so she was excited to get back out there,” Galloway said of Lineberry. “I felt like she took her frustration out in an aggressive way offensively and defensively, which is what we needed to get us going.”
HVA will look to keep that energy going this week facing Oak Ridge Friday night, Jan. 16. The Lady Hawks also took on Rhea County Tuesday, Jan. 13, though the game took place after press time.
“The season is barely halfway finished, so we’ve got a long way to go,” Galloway said. “A lot of games left so one game does not define us. We shot the ball really well against Jeff County, so we know it’s there. We’ve got bigs that can score and girls that can hit 3s, so once we can do all that on the same night, we’ll be a dangerous team.”
