Owen teams fall to Avery on Senior Night

Warlassies and Warhorses come up in short in final regular season home appearance

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
February 5, 2023

The final regular season home games for three Warlassies and four Warhorses ended in losses to Avery, Feb. 3, but that didn’t stop the home crowd from cheering on Senior Night.

Carly Hancock, Maesyn Gardner and Mia McMurry received a warm welcome from fans before facing off against their Western Highlands Conference foe, while Alex Sanchez, Hunter Inabinett, Jaheem O’Hara and Jacob King elicited cheers from the packed stands.

All three Warlassies were on floor, as Owen entered the contest with a 9-13 record. The visiting Vikings came into the night with a 7-14 mark.

Avery seized the lead early, managing to build a 14-9 lead in the opening quarter with a layup at the buzzer. Owen briefly cut into that advantage early in the second quarter, but a Vikings run put them up, 28-20, heading into the half.

A stifling defense that led to transition scoring early in the second half pushed the Avery lead to 16 by the end of the third quarter, but Owen responded with a run of its own.

Junior Ellie Martin cut the Vikings lead to 11 when she knocked down a 3-pointer early in the final frame. A defensive stop on the next Avery possession led to a layup on the other end by Gardner, cutting the visiting team’s advantage to single digits.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Gardner and Martin put the Warlassies within 6 points, with three minutes to play, and a steal by McMurry eventually cut Avery’s lead to 49-45. Gardner would get her team within 2 points of the lead in the final minute, but the Vikings converted on free throw opportunities to seal the 55-49 victory.

The 10-12 Warhorses found themselves down by 8 in the early minutes of their matchup against 13-8 Avery. The lead increased to 15 points by the end of the first quarter, and ballooned to 35-12 heading into halftime.

The Owen offense doubled its production in the second half, but the early Vikings lead proved insurmountable in the 61-44 loss.

Both teams will close out the season in Madison County, Tuesday, Feb. 7. They will return to their home court for a final time when Owen hosts the WHC Tournament later this month.

Photos of Owen Basketball Senior Night highlights can be found in the gallery at the top of the page.