Nantahala has enjoyed the comforts of home their last three games, but now they'll head out on the road. They will face off against the Hayesville Yellowjackets at 6:00 p.m. on Friday. Nantahala will have to bring their A-game into this one, as they are staring down a pretty big deficit in the MaxPreps North Carolina Rankings (they are ranked 597th, while Hayesville is ranked 223rd).
Nantahala suffered their biggest loss since November 16, 2023 on Wednesday. They were dealt a 64-32 loss at the hands of Swain County. Nantahala has struggled against Swain County recently, as their game on Wednesday was their fourth consecutive lost matchup.
Despite the loss, Nantahala had strong showings from Zoey Passmore, who scored 16 points, and Delaney McLean, who scored 13 points.
Meanwhile, Hayesville waltzed into their matchup on Wednesday with five straight wins but they left with six. They really took it to Summit Charter for the full four quarters, racking up a 70-16 win at home. Hayesville has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won six matchups by 26 points or more this season.
Hayesville found their leader in underclassman Ava Shook, who scored 13 points along with six steals and five rebounds. Shook hasn't dropped below two steals for seven straight games. Emma Ashe was another key contributor, scoring ten points along with four steals.
Nantahala's loss was their fifth straight at home, which bumped their record down to 1-10. As for Hayesville, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 12-4 record this season.
Nantahala was taken down by Hayesville 75-19 when the teams last played back in December of 2023. The matchup was all but decided by halftime, at which point Nantahala was down 54-13.
