Hardin Park's 22-19 victory in the semifinals of the girls' middle school tournament held in the Auxiliary Gym at Watauga High came down to who could make the most foul shots.

Though both teams struggled from the line, a pair of foul shots from Katie Harrelson with .5 seconds left sealed No. 2-seeded Hardin Park's victory over No. 3-seeded Green Valley. Her foul shots came after Green Valley could not convert on a possession after getting the ball with 13.4 seconds left.

Hardin Park most of the game, taking an 8-6 halftime lead and a 15-9 advantage going into the fourth quarter. Hardin Park added a Allie Brown foul shot to go up 16-9, but Green Valley went on a 9-1 run capped by a dramatic 3-point basket by Mia Austin with 2:31 left in the game that gave Green Valley a 17-16 lead. Hardin Park eventually pulled back in front with a pair of foul shots from Maggie Harrelson and a free throw from Brown. They gave the Eagles a 20-19 lead.

Tymber Wilson led Hardin Park in scoring with eight points. Brown and Mac Utter each added four points.

Green Valley's Tori Branch led all scorers with nine points. Austin added seven and Carson Middlebrook scored two for the Eagles.

Hardin Park plays No. 1-seeded Parkway, which beat Bethel in the second game of the doubleheader. Parkway goes into the game with a 16-0 record. The Patriots also ran the table in volleyball by finishing with a 17-0 mark.

 

Blowing Rock's boys' basketball team made a strong statement that they deserve of a middle school tournament championship with its 52-30 victory over Green Valley in the semifinals at Lentz-Eggers Gym Thursday.

Blowing Rock overwhelmed Green Valley by storming out to a 27-5 halftime lead. Rockets point guard Caleb Bryson scored seven of the team's first nine points and finished with 10 points overall.

When Bryson was not putting the ball in the basket, he was dishing it to center Levi Wilcox, who led all scorers with 20 points. Wilcox constantly scored on layups from the low post either on feeds from teammates, or from offensive rebounds.

Zach Valet added 13 points either by driving to the basket, or with a 3-point basket he made.

Green Valley did not get on the scoreboard until Case Taylor converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 1:56 left in the second quarter. Joe Norris added a basket with 1:09 left, but by then, the Eagles were behind 20-5. Bryson capped a first-half ending 7-0 run with a 3-point basket.

Blowing Rock takes on top-seeded Hardin Park, a winner over Parkway.