Happy New Year indeed.
The East Hamilton girls' basketball team, which hasn't lost since the calendar flipped to 2022, pushed its winning streak to five games with Thursday night's 53-50 home victory against Signal Mountain.
The Lady Hurricanes won the battle for the top spot in District 6-AAA by beating the last team to beat them, back on Dec. 29 in the Times Free Press Best of Preps tournament.
"The energy our girls had going into this game was great," said East Hamilton coach Kayla Burse, whose team improved to 10-9 overall and 7-0 in league play.
"This was a huge game for us to break even. Our schedule was so tough to begin the season, and a lot of our girls were just getting back from a run to the state championship game in volleyball. We did some soul searching, and I really think we are moving in the right direction now. Tonight was a big step for us, and I am proud of my girls."
One of those volleyball standouts, McKenna Hayes, had a pair of key baskets down the stretch as she scored a team-high 18 points.
On the first one, freshman point guard Christal Collins displayed elite ball-handling before dishing off to Morgan Bone. From the top right side of the arc, Bone found a cutting Hayes, whose mid-range jumper bounced off the front of the rim and in. Soon after that, Hayes made a flashy move on the right baseline to get around a defender and score for a seven-point lead with 1:53 left to play.
Signal Mountain (8-9, 5-1) benefited from a sensational performance from freshman Carlee Lowry, who helped the Lady Eagles fight back from a 33-22 deficit.
The star forward scored a game-high 27 points and was tough to defend in the paint and keep off the glass. Lowry had 14 of her 20 rebounds in the second half, when she gave Signal Mountain a 40-35 lead with a spin move and finished off an in-bounds play under her own hoop late in the third quarter.
When Hayes had to leave in the third due to injury, the Lady Hurricanes didn't let their senior star down.
Junior Niya McGhee converted a three-point play and grabbed nine rebounds, Etaliah Laboo made two clutch free throws and sophomore Tristin Sutton scored six straight points with tough drives in the fourth quarter. Sutton gave East Hamilton the lead for good at 45-44 with just more than four minutes remaining.
The Lady Hurricanes fed off Hayes' leadership early and late. She started the game with three sharp assists in the first quarter and took over in the second by scoring nine points in the period. Her second 3 from the left corner came after she helped secure an offensive rebound.
"We played with great energy and knew we had to have this game," said Hayes, who has scored 73 points over the past four games. "Tonight I got myself going by finding my teammates for the open shots, and that pumped me up. We just need to keep this momentum going and stay focused down the stretch."
Soddy-Daisy girls 55, Hixson 9: Jada Trimiar was tough to handle with 16 points and Melody Crawley drained four 3-pointers for the winning Lady Trojans (13-7, 4-3 District 6-AAA).
Soddy-Daisy boys 54, Hixson 49: Senior Nathan Landtroop scored seven points in the fourth quarter for the Trojans, who outpaced the Wildcats 17-12 in the period. Hixson's Kaden Herman led all with 20 points and made five 3s over the first three quarters, and Tarus Earls scored 15 in the defeat. Soddy-Daisy was led by Bryson Reid's 14, while five players scored at least seven for the Trojans.
Red Bank boys 59, Cleveland 55: The Lions fought back from a six-point deficit to begin the fourth as senior Reco Trimble scored nine of his team's 21 points in the quarter for a big road victory. Trimble shot 8-of-11 from the field and finished with 22 points and five steals. Red Bank (15-4) also received a spark from junior Nick Smith, who had 16 points on 6-for-9 shooting with four assists. Cleveland's Alex Hyder had 15 points, Drew Lambert 13 and Judah Sault 10.
Compiled by Patrick MacCoon. Contact him at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com.