Basketball Recap: Avery County Falls Despite Big Games from Caroline Hollifield and Marley Jones

After flying high against Owen last Wednesday, Avery County came back down to earth. The Avery County Vikings took a 57-50 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Mountain Heritage Cougars on Friday. Sadly, that's the second time they've come up short against the Vikings this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 67-60 last Wednesday.

Caroline Hollifield

Blocked Shots

01/31/25 vs Mountain Heritage	3
12/12/23 vs McDowell	3
01/02/25 vs McDowell	2
11/15/24 vs Johnson County	2
12/19/24 vs Draughn	1

Avery County's loss came despite strong showings from Marley Jones and Caroline Hollifield. Jones went 5 for 11 on her way to 16 points and seven rebounds, while Hollifield went 6 of 9 en route to 15 points and three blocks. That's the most blocks Hollifield has posted since back in December of 2023.

Mountain Heritage's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Layla Worley led the charge by almost dropping a double-double on 13 points and nine boards. Worley has been hot recently, having also posted two or more steals the last four times she's played. Lilly Neill was another key player, dropping a double-double on 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Avery County's defeat dropped their record down to 12-6. As for Mountain Heritage, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 11 of their last 12 contests, which provided a nice bump to their 16-3 record this season.

Avery County and Mountain Heritage should be looking forward to their upcoming games as both have a sizable advantage in the MaxPreps North Carolina Rankings. Avery County (ranked 140th) will meet Madison (ranked 410th) at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Similarly, Mountain Heritage will square off against Mitchell at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday up 123 places (87 vs. 210).