Seymour's Lady Eagle team hit the hardwoods for the first time in nearly two weeks when they faced the Pigeon Forge Lady Tigers on Monday.
Their recent absence from the court was evident during the early part of the game, with the Tigers taking an early 20-14 advantage during the second quarter. However, the Lady Eagles ultimately prevailed, edging out Pigeon Forge in a 43-42 nail-biter.
Seymour's hoopsters remained behind with just 19 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, and as the pressure mounted, Baily McCoy managed to sink a pair of free throws to put her team over the top.
After the the game, Seymour coach Greg Hernandez explained, "we escaped and we'll take any win we can get."
Hernandez added that the clutch victory is illustrative of the team's worth ethic and ability to execute when it counts, and he complemented McCoy's impressive work in snagging the late rebound and hitting her free throws.
While Pigeon Forge capitalized early on the Eagles' recent lack of on-court action, Seymour whittled the lead to one point, and then during their first possession in the second half, snatched the lead.
Hernandez remarked on the fact that his team had not played in a game for 13 full days, but added, "the girls were ready to play tonight."
The Pigeon Forge effort was led by Sarah Teaster, who notched 17 points, with 10 of those occurring in the game's first half. Ana Naas contributed an impressive 16 points of her own.
The Lady Tigers saw their additional points come from just two players, namely, Halle Hensley and Paiton Whaley.
Pigeon Forge coach Emory Cain remarked, "We hurt them early with some slips in our ball screen offense," adding, "we got some easy looks early on."
After having lost their lead early in the game, the Lady Tigers clawed their way back, with their next advantage coming with just 1:04 remaining in the game. That is when Hensley made the first of a pair of free throws.
In the end, however, it was McCoy's time on the foul line that determined the game's outcome.
About his team's eleventh-hour collapse, Cain opined, "we have had a little bit of on issue from moving on after making bad plays."
He continued that the team had made some unfortunate plays and "had been letting that bother us and we wouldn't get back in the game," but he also seemed relatively pleased with the "mental toughness" his team showed in this particular battle.
Maci Pitner of Seymour's squad displayed impressive range by sinking give three-point shots during the game's first half, hitting six in total for the contest. She also tallied 19 points for the night, the most of all the Lady Eagles.
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