VICI — Hydro-Eakly concluded their regular season Tuesday night at Vici, with a 71-39 victory.
“We did a really good job with our press and rotating to the ball,” assistant coach Hannah Guthrie said. “Offensively, I felt like we got any shot we wanted and we executed very well for the most part. We rushed ourselves at times, but we took good shots and worked the ball around really well.”
Guthrie graduated from Vici and has coached against Vici before when she was at Mooreland.
“I have coached against Vici before,” Guthrie said. “It is cool and I had a little sister on the team when I was at Mooreland, which was pretty interesting.”
Hydro-Eakly did not give up a point until there was 1:48 left in the first quarter. The point they gave up was off a free throw and Hydro-Eakly was ahead 18-1 going into the second quarter.
“Anytime you can hold a team to one point in a quarter, that always is a good thing,” Guthrie said. “We have a tendency to come out and defend very well at the beginning of games. Our defense is so impressive.”
The second quarter was the same as the first quarter with the press continuing to work. The Lady Bobcats opened the quarter outscoring Vici 12-4 with plays like Rees Berkey stealing the ball away from Vici. Hydro-Eakly was ahead 37-9 at halftime. Kenzie Rodriquez and Kira Berkey each scored 12 points in the first half.
Vici saw some offensive success in the third quarter but Hydro-Eakly did as well. The third quarter ended with Rees Berkey passing the ball to Kira Berkey on a fast-break right before the buzzer where Kira Berkey made a layup, making the score 58-24 going into the fourth quarter.
Vici did outscore Hydro-Eakly in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Bobcats won the game 71-39. Hydro-Eakly also finished the regular season undefeated.
“At times this season, we have looked really good,” Guthrie said. “There have been a few times we have struggled to get our chemistry together, like finishing the game tonight, but we got the win and did what it took to beat Vici. We are getting our chemistry back though. Hopefully, we return Lotti Parker and Paisley Vickery soon also.”
Kira Berkey scored 29 points. Rees Berkey scored 15 points and Rodriquez scored 14 points.
Hydro-Eakly finishes the regular season with a record of 23-0. Hydro-Eakly will play in the District Tournament championship game, 6:30 p.m. today against the winner of Union City or Fletcher at Hydro-Eakly. Union City and Fletcher played Friday night at Hydro-Eakly.
“We have to be more consistent in the playoffs,” Guthrie said. “We have to play our game and be us. We cannot let teams slow us down and make us uncomfortable.”