Blogging from the Catawba Valley Classic

BOYS ACTION:
In the opening game of the boys Catawba Valley Classic tournament at Hickory High School, No. 3 Alexander Central defeats No. 6 Maiden, 58-44.

No. 1 Hickory defeated No. 8 Bunker Hill, 63-39.

In other boys action from C-V Classic, No. 7 South Caldwell upsets No. 2 Fred T. Foard, 51-46.

GIRLS ACTION:

Alexander Central advanced in the girls bracket of the 25th annual Catawba Valley Classic, 50-32.
The Lady Cougars were led by Madi Suddreth who scored 15 and Kelsie Rhyne scored 10. Brooke Sharpe scored eight, and Marah Cockrell scored six.

Virginia McMahan led the Lady Indians with 10, while Victoria Lavelle scored eight. Kayona Hicks and Morgan Bibey each scored four.

Game blog follows:
At the end of one quarter, Alex Central leads St. Stephens 14-10.

Alexander Central begins to pull ahead in the second quarter thanks to foul shots and missed opportunities for St. Stephens. At halftime, the Lady Cougars lead 30-19. Alexander Central outscored St. Stephens 16-9 in the second quarter.

Alexander Central defeats St. Stephens, 50-32. AC plays N-C tomorrow night, while the Lady Indians play Foard in the consolation bracket.

EARLY GAMES:

SOUTH CALDWELL 61, MAIDEN 28

South Caldwell defeated Maiden 61-28. Anna Lee Bollinger led the Lady Spartans with 14 and Taylor Cannon added 13. Leah Sherrill and Courtney Wood each scored eight.

Sabrien Gaither led the Lady Blue Devils with 13 points, while Christina Helms scored eight.

Game blog follows:
At the end of the first quarter in girls C-V Classic action, Maiden leads 9-8 over S. Caldwell. Sabrien Gaither led the Lady Blue Devils with four first-quarter points. South Caldwell was 0-6 from the free throw line in the first quarter.

South Caldwell surged ahead in the second quarter, 18-9 thanks to foul shooting and Maiden's missed opportunities. The Lady Spartans also collected steals to help build a 10-point lead going into halftime.

The Lady Spartans were led by Leah Sherill who hit four free throws for four points. Courtney Wood also scored four first-half points. Taylor Cannon added three points, while Amber Gross scored two. For Maiden, a hot start shooting led to a cold second quarter. Taylor Coulter and Sabrina Gaither each scored four in the first half. Christina Helms scored three.

South Caldwell led 23-13 at halftime.

At the end of three quarters, South Caldwell leads Maiden, 38-16. Fouls mounted early for Maiden, but the Lady Blue Devils found themselves in the double bonus midway through the third quarter. They'll shoot two free throws for each South Caldwell foul in through the games' end.

South Caldwell finishes strong to collect the 61-28.

HICKORY 80, BUNKER HILL 20
In the opening game of the Catawba Valley Classic, No. 1 Hickory defeated No. 8 Bunker Hill, 80-20.

Aja Hoyle led Hickory with 16 points, while Jamie Bowers Erika Troutman, Rochelle Gaither and Hannah Young each eight points. Hannah Huffman led Bunker Hill with eight points. Wilbelis Rojas scored five for the Lady Bears.

Game blog follows:
Hickory jumps out to a quick 8-0 lead before Bunker Hill Coach Randy Joines calls a timeout at the 5:55 mark of the first quarter.

Hickory expands its lead to 21-2 at the end of the first quarter. Leading the tornadoes were Aja Hoyle with 11 points and four points for Andrea Miller.

At halftime, Hickory leads Bunker Hill 44-9. Hoyle leads Hickory with 13 points, and Farrah Young and Erica Troutman each has scored six.

At the end of three quarters, Hickory leads 62-11 over Bunker Hill in Catawba Valley Classic girls action.

NEWTON-CONOVER 66, FRED T. FOARD 34

Newton-Conover used a strong defense to defeat Fred T. Foard, 66-34.

The Lady Red Devils were led by Kadeshia Gibbs who scored 20, while Laneica Williams scored 16 and Shynese Whitener scored 11. Taylor Petty added seven. Cayla Miller and Zariya Moss each scored four and Sadesia Tipps scored two.

For the Lady Tigers, Brooke Robinson scored 11 and Chelsea Turner scored eight.

Game blog follows:

At the end of the first quarter, Newton-Conover leads 16-11 over Fred T. Foard.

At halftime, Newton-Conover surged ahead to a 30-19 lead. Leading the Lady Red Devils, Kadeshia Gibbs scored 13 first-half points. Shynese Whitener added nine. For Foard's Lady Tigers, Brooke Robinson scored seven first-half points, and Chelsea Turner added five.

Newton-Conover collected 12 steals in the opening half, with Gibbs accounting for five.

Newton-Conover picked up the win, going away 66-34.

PREGAME:

The 25th annual Catawba Valley Classic basketball tournament tipped off Tuesday afternoon at Hickory High School and Catawba Valley Community College.

Follow action hoops action from boys and girls games as The O-N-E delivers updates on with its online edition, www.observernewsonline.com [1], and on its Twitter feed @TheONENews.

No. 4 South Caldwell plays No. 5 Maiden in the second game of the tournament. Set to start at 7 p.m., No. 3 Newton-Conover plays No. 6 Fred T. Foard, in the two teams’ only game for the remainder of the hoops season. Girls action concludes Tuesday night with the match-up between No. 2 Alexander central and No. 7 St. Stephens. Tip-off for that game is tentatively set for 8:30 p.m.

All first-round boys games will be played at Hickory High, where action begins at 4:30 p.m. with No. 3 Alexander against No. 6 Maiden. That game will be followed by No. 1 Hickory against No. 8 Bunker Hill. Scheduled to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. No. 2 Fred T. Foard plays No. 7 South Caldwell, and the night’s final game will be between No. 4 Newton-Conover and No. 5 St. Stephens.

Championship games will be Thursday at Catawba Valley Community College's Tarlton Complex.

Cost of admission is $6 per venue. To see all the action at both venues, tournament passes are available for $15.