Basketball Recap: Adison Hayes Leads a Balanced Attack to Beat Volunteer

Grainger won the last time they faced Volunteer and things went their way on Saturday too. The Grainger Grizzlies walked away with a 52-39 win over the Volunteer Falcons. Given the Grizzlies' advantage in MaxPreps' Tennessee basketball rankings (they are ranked 101st, while the Falcons are ranked 245th), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.

Adison Hayes

Points

02/22/25 vs Volunteer	19
02/11/25 @ Cherokee	14
02/10/25 @ Northview Academy	12
02/07/25 vs Greeneville	10
02/06/25 @ Volunteer	14
+ 23 more games

Grainger got their victory on the backs of several key players, but it was Adison Hayes out in front who posted 19 points. Hayes continues to improve, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Brookelyn Roach, who scored eight points along with eight assists and seven boards.

Grainger was working as a unit and finished the game with 13 assists. They are 16-4 when they've passed the ball that well.

Several Falcons players turned in solid performances despite ultimately coming up short. Perhaps the best among those players was Elisabeth Byington, who dropped a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Byington is becoming a predictor of Volunteer's success: when she posts at least ten boards the team is 2-1 (and 12-16 when she doesn't). Another player making a difference was Emilee Mailloux, who had ten points and three steals.

The win made it two in a row for Grainger and bumps their season record up to 18-13. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 7-20 Cherokee and 14-17 Volunteer. As for Volunteer, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 14-17.

Grainger wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, a 64-40 defeat against Greeneville on the 24th. As for Volunteer, they also didn't take long to hit the court again: they've already played their next contest, a 60-42 victory against Cherokee on the 24th.