Grayson County rallies to beat Lady Bears

By JERRY SCOTT/Staff

Holding a seemingly comfortable lead entering the fourth quarter, Bland County’s Bears failed to seal the deal against first-place Grayson County in girls’ basketball play last Tuesday night in Rocky Gap.
In the end, the Bears couldn’t contain Grayson County’s multi-talented Mikaela Anders who scored six of her game-high 22 points in the fourth stanza as the Blue Devils squirmed away with a 49-45 win.
The win kept the Blue Devils unbeaten in the MED at 4-0 and upped their overall record to 11-3. Hoping to jump into first place itself, Bland County suffered its first district loss in district play after a pair of wins, slipping to 5-9 overall.
The Bears’ Kirby Mustard arched in a pair of first period 3-pointers en route to scoring eight of her 12 points as the Bears slipped out to a 16-15 lead. Fellow sophomore Laurel Hankins then followed suit during the second stanza, throwing in eight points, as Bland County outscored their guests 10-6 to hold a 26-21 halftime lead.
The third period also went Bland County’s way as the Bears outlasted the Blue Devils 12-10 to extend the advantage to 38-31. Sara Looney’s four points in the stanza sparked the Bears’ offense with five different Bears reaching the scoring column.
After scoring 10 markers in the first half and another six in the third period, Anders took over in the final quarter as the Blue Devils put forth a determined rally that turned the game around. The senior hit for six more points, including four straight free throws, as Grayson County drubbed the Bears 18-7, finally overcoming their fairly huge deficit with just under three minutes left to score the win.
Anders was the lone Grayson County scorer in twin digits. Joyelle Combs finished with seven points and Tiffany Blevins added six. Hankins led the Bears with 17, Mustard added 12, and Sara Looney eight. Junior Kristin Dunn grabbed nine rebounds, just ahead of Looney’s seven.
In the JV game, Erika Duncan erupted for 20 points, including nine in the fourth quarter as the Bears waltzed away from a 19-14 lead, en route to taking a 34-19 win over the Blue Devils. Duncan hit three 3-pointers in the win, the Bears’ 13th against just one loss this season.
Kellie Morris tallied six points for the winning Bears. Angie Wingate topped Grayson County, also with six points.

GRAYSON COUNTY (4-0, 11-3) 49
T. Blevins 3 0-0 6, Combs 3 0-0 7, Anders 7 8-9 22, Vaughan 2 0-4 4, Funk 2 0-0 4, Spurlin 2 0-0 4, Greer 1 0-0 2.  TOTALS 20 8-13 49

BLAND COUNTY (2-1, 5-9) 45
Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Mustard 5-9 0-0 12, S. Looney 4-7 0-0 8, Hankins 3-11 10-12 17, Dunn 1-7 0-4 2, Magyar 0-0 0-0 0, Duncan 0-0 0-0 0, Neal 0-4 0-0 0, Brizendine 0-4 0-0 0, Hutchens 3 0-0 6.  TOTALS 16-46 10-16 45

Grayson County 15 6 10 18—49
Bland County 16 10 12 7—45

3-point goals: Combs, Mustard (2), Hankins
BC rebounds: 26 (Dunn 9)
BC assists: 7 (Hankins 3)
BC steals: 5 (Neal 2)
Total fouls: GC 15, BC 18
Fouled out: Spurlin