Basketball Recap: Mountain Heritage Beats Avery County for Their 11th Straight Win

Cougars

Previous Games

02/22/25 vs Avery County	64-59
02/18/25 vs Draughn	67-30
02/17/25 vs NCSSM: Morganton	79-22
02/14/25 @ Draughn	75-49
02/13/25 vs NCSSM: Morganton	74-15
+ 6 more games

Mountain Heritage had won ten straight games and Lilly Neill did her part to make it 11 on Saturday. The Mountain Heritage Cougars came within five points of losing the streak, but they secured a 64-59 W against the Avery County Vikings thanks to Neill, who dropped a double-double with 17 points and 12 boards. That's the most points she has posted since back in January of 2024.

Layla Worley was another key player, putting up 13 points in addition to six assists and three steals. She has been hot recently, having posted two or more steals the last three times she's played.

Despite the loss, Avery County saw an underclassman step up: sophomore Caroline Hollifield went 7-for-14 on her way to 27 points and seven rebounds. Those 27 points set a new season-high mark for Hollifield. The team also got some help courtesy of Marley Jones, who went 5-for-12 to rack up 16 points.

Mountain Heritage's record now sits at 23-3. As for Avery County, their defeat dropped their record down to 19-7.

The two teams are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. Mountain Heritage will be playing at home against Bethany Community at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. One thing working in Mountain Heritage's favor is that they have posted at least 55 points in their last six contests. As for Avery County, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Andrews at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.