Ashe Mountain Times

Lady Huskies best Trojans

Following a tightly contested matchup, the Ashe County Lady Huskies slipped past Alleghany 42-41 in West Jefferson on Wednesday, Feb. 6. 

With the win, Ashe (12-10, 10-5) guaranteed at least a fourth place finish in the Mountain Valley Conference and could still finish the season as high as second place. 

Ashe Coach Laura Foster said the Huskies are now in a dog fight to secure a number one seed in the conference’s 2A division with Wilkes Central. 

There are four 2A and five 1A teams in the MVC. 

Paige Spell led all scorers for Ashe with 18 points. 

Following the win, Ashe would stumble 54-29 against North Wilkes on Friday, Feb. 8.

Ashe County’s hopes were hampered in that contest, as they turned the ball over 20 times. 

In addition, Ashe shot only 23 percent within the 3-point line and 10 percent from behind the arc. The Huskies also shot 48 percent from the free-throw line. 

On the other side of the ball, the Huskies allowed the Lady Vikings to shoot 46 percent from the field. 

The Lady Huskies will look to close out the season on a high note on Friday with a matchup against West Wilkes. 

Boys fall to Trojans

Alleghany exacted its long awaited revenge over Ashe County High last week with the 63-56 upset win in West Jefferson. 

For the Trojans, it was the first time they have defeated the Huskies since 2011 when Alleghany knocked off the conference favorites in Sparta. 

It was the Trojans second win against Ashe since joining the Mountain Valley Conference in 2009. 

The Huskies defeated the Trojans in Sparta earlier this season 56-43. 

The Trojans contained the momentum early on, securing a 12-9 lead after the first quarter. 

Baskets by Anderson Moore and Cullen Ashley led the early charge for the Huskies. 

The second quarter turned out to be a barn burner, as both teams began to find their range inside and from midrange. 

Trailing inside two minutes to play in the first half, a 3-pointer by Zach Lawrence gave the Huskies a brief lead, but a matching basket by Alex Taylor tied the game at 19. 

During the third quarter, sloppy passing by the Huskies enabled the Trojans to notch a double-digit lead. 

Austin Sprinkle served as the driving force for the Trojans as he guided Alleghany with 10 points in the third to give the Trojans a 38-27 lead heading into the fourth quarter. 

Jordan Spell, who is normally a prolific shooter for Ashe, notched his first basket of the game in the early moments of the game to cut the Trojans’ lead to 41-30.

Devan Sheets found his rhythm late in the contest, nailing three 3-pointers to pull the Huskies back within single digits. 

Eli Gambill added three baskets, including a 3-pointer, in the fourth quarter to keep Ashe within striking distance, but in the end the Trojans would capture the win over their rivals to the west. 

The Huskies then travelled to North Wilkes on Friday, when they suffered a 54-40 setback. 

Ashe will close out the season on Friday on senior night with a matchup against West Wilkes High.