Led by senior Hunter Given's 24 points, the Highlanders easily dispatched the visiting Braxton County Eagles 66 to 41 in an opening round sectional playoff game Tuesday evening to advance to the Sectional Championship.
Webster will now host the Ritchie County Rebels Friday at 7:00 p.m. The Rebels defeated Roane County Tuesday evening 58 to 54. With their win, Ritchie County now sports an 18 win, 5 loss record. The Rebels are ranked 10th in Class AA by the Associated Press poll.
The 8th ranked Highlanders opened the game with Braxton County on a quick 4 to 0 start. Braxton fought back, helped by senior Brett Morris sitting on the bench with two quick fouls, and the Eagles led Webster 14 to 12 at the end of the first quarter. Needless to say, many of the Highlander faithful were on edge.
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Webster County High School Cheerleaders: (front, l. to r.) Summer Rose, Marissa Fleming, Jasmine McCoy, Esstay Boggs, and Allison Walters; (back, l. to r.) Chelsea Dean, Chelsie Jordan, Rebekah Hardway, Katie Hollandsworth, Joy Bean, and Alyssa Tharp. |
The Highlanders owned the second quarter, primarily behind the hot shooting of Given. Head coach Jerry Dean had his team apply a relentless full court press throughout much of the game, and it paid big dividends in the second quarter with countless Braxton turnovers. Webster smoked Braxton 28 to 10 in the second quarter to comfortably lead at halftime by a score of 40 to 24.
Webster increased their lead in the third quarter, outscoring Braxton 14 to 7. Junior Jake Thayer scored the last 5 points of the third quarter for Webster. Jake brought the crowed to its feet when he nailed a long three point shot at the buzzer and Webster led at the end of the third quarter 54 to 31. The teams played relatively even in the fourth quarter as Webster ran away with the 66 to 41 win and a berth in the Sectional Championship game.
Given led the Highlanders with 24 points, making a hot 7 of 9 shots, including 3 for 3 from three point range. Given also had 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal. Brett Morris was the only other Highlander scoring in double figures with 18 points. Morris also had 5 assists, 4 steals, 3 rebounds, and 1 blocked shot.
Other Highlanders on the team stat sheet included: Dalton Davis, 9 points, 5 rebounds; Thayer, 5 points, 1 rebound; Stephen Cogar, 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist; Hunter Williams, 3 points, 2 rebounds; Robbie Cogar, 2 points, 4 steals, 2 assists, 1 rebound; Drew Green, 2 points, 2 assists, 1 steal; Guy Cowger, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals; Tyler Anderson, 1 rebound; and Rick Holcomb, 1 rebound.
As a team, Webster made 23 of 42 shots (54%), including 6 of 15 (40%) from 3 point range. From the free throw line, Webster made 14 of 23 shots (60%).
With the win, Webster improved its record to 18 wins, 3 losses on the season.
This is the second year in a row that the Highlanders will host a Sectional Championship.
Good job boys. I want to give a shout out to my nephew #40 Logan Taylor. Poor guy received a concussion during practice the day before the game and was unable to attend the game.
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