The William Byrd girls basketball stayed hot with three wins in five days. Byrd is now 6-0 on the season and will put their unbeaten streak on the line tonight at home against Cave Spring.
The Terriers played host to Salem, a fellow Class 4 team, last Friday and took a 51-33 win against an improved Spartan team. Salem didn’t win a game all of last season but their scrappiness game Byrd some problems early in the contest.
“It was an ugly, scrappy game in the first half,” said Byrd coach Brad Greenway. “Salem did an effective job at junking the game up and we could and should have handled their pressure better.”
The Terriers regrouped at halftime and pulled away. Sydney Burton led Byrd with 15 points and she also had eight steals. Megan Grant had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
On Monday the girls were at Pulaski County to play another Class 4 team from Region D, and this could be a team they’ll see in the post-season. Byrd jumped to a 27-17 halftime lead, then put it away by outscoring the Cougars16-11 in the third quarter.
“This was a a good win against a really solid Pulaski team,” said Greenway. “They’ve played a tough schedule to start the year and I think they’re going to be a team that has a good season when it’s all said and done. Going up 81 to their place on a Monday and controlling the game says a lot about our girls.”
Briona Hurt matched up against taller Alexis Phillips, who is going to play at Concord University next year. Hurt wasn’t intimidated by the size or pedigree as she outplayed Phillips, holding her to just five points while scoring 15 and pulling down eight rebounds.
“I’m really proud of how she came out,” said Greenway.
Hannah Sowers had a good game with 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists and Jacy Marvin had 13 points, five assists and five boards.
The Terriers didn’t have a lot of time to savor the win as they were right back on the bus for a game at Hidden Valley Tuesday. A 12-3 second period fueled a six point win, 42-36, as Byrd improved to 6-0.
“Our second road win in two nights, we’ll take that every time,” said Greenway. “Hidden Valley played a solid game and their record(2-5) is not indicative of how good they are. They’ve played a tough schedule so far.”
Byrd had a couple girls struggling through illness and injuries but the Terriers hung tough.
“Hidden Valley tried to take away our wings and ball reversals, which opened up some back-door opportunities and we eventually found them,” said Greenway.
Hurt had another good game with 11 points, as did Sowers, and Megan Grant led all scorers with 13.
“Megan was able to get the ball into the paint several times and finish through contact, which was a big lift for us,” said Greenway. “ And I sound like a broken record on this, but Hannah had another strong game. Can’t say enough about what she’s giving us right now as far as being a jack of all trades.”
Tonight’s game will be the fourth in seven days, then the Terriers will get a chance to get some rest as they won’t play again until Friday, December 22, at Northside.