Basketball Recap: Avery County Takes a Loss

If Avery County was feeling good fresh off their 60-28 takedown of Mitchell last Tuesday, their most recent game may have dampened their spirits a bit. The Avery County Vikings took a 64-59 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Mountain Heritage Cougars. Unfortunately, that's the third time they've come up short against the Cougars this season, with their most recent defeat being a 57-50 loss back in January.

Caroline Hollifield

Points (Career)

02/22/25 vs Mountain Heritage	27
12/29/23 vs Patton	22
01/31/24 @ Mitchell	21
02/13/25 @ Draughn	20
01/17/25 @ Mitchell	20

When it comes to explaining why Avery County lost on Saturday, don't look at Caroline Hollifield. Despite the final result, she went 7-for-14 on her way to 27 points and seven boards. The dominant performance gave Hollifield a new career-high in points. Another player making a difference was Marley Jones, who went 5-for-12 to rack up 16 points.

It was another big night for Lilly Neill, who dropped a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds for Mountain Heritage. Neill is also on a roll when it comes to field goal percentage, as she's posted one of at least 50% in the last six games she's played. Layla Worley was another key player, putting up 13 points along with six assists and three steals.

Avery County's defeat dropped their record down to 19-7. As for Mountain Heritage, they are on a roll lately: they've won 18 of their last 19 contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 23-3 record this season.

Avery County and Mountain Heritage are set to take part in some playoff action in their next matches. Avery County will square off against Andrews at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday. As for Mountain Heritage, they will face off 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 matches.