HUNTSVILLE -- Berryville coach Daniel Cornelison had only one positive takeaway from his team's performance Friday night.
"We won," he said.
The Lady Bobcats (12-0, 1-0 4A-1 Conference) extended their winning streak to 12 games and helped cement their claim as the No.1 team in Class 4A after beating Huntsville 43-25 in Charles Berry Gymnasium, but for Cornelison and his team, the final score told a different story than what they saw on the court.
"It's the worst it's been all year," Cornelison said. "We didn't execute on either end of the floor. We didn't play very well."
The Lady Bobcats trailed Huntsville (2-8, 0-1) for most of the first half, but they ended the second quarter on a 12-0 run after the team's defense began creating turnovers and challenging Huntsville's players around the rim, forcing them to shoot from outside. Berryville would not surrender the lead the rest of the night.
"We can play a lot better," Cornelison said. "They're disappointed in their effort tonight even more so than I am. They know they can play better than that."
Berryville's Braylea Smith led the team with 16 points, scoring 11 of those in the first half when the Bobcats needed an influx of offense.
The four-year starter came through for the Bobcats at pivotal moments in the game starting at the end of the first quarter when she knocked down a three-pointer as time expired to cut Huntsville's lead to one. She followed up the shot by nailing three straight free throws at the end of the half after the Eagles' Kendra Poor fouled her at the buzzer.
Huntsville looked poised to give Berryville's press defense fits in the first quarter after the Eagles began splitting the full-court pressure for open layups, but the team struggled to make easy shots the rest of the game.
The Eagles scored one basket in the second half and finished with seven points, matching their second-quarter total alone. The Eagles had four seniors score with Kara Drewyor leading the way with 11 points.
"Where the offense went in the second half, I'm not sure," Huntsville coach Greg McCone said. "You just can't beat a good team doing that."
Berryville 43, Huntsville 25
Berryville 10 16 11 6 -- 43
Huntsville 11 7 3 4 -- 25
Berryville (12-0, 1-0): B. Smith 16, Hopper 10, Morrell 8, Estepp 4, K. Smith 2, Anderson 2, Li. Compton 1
Huntsville (2-8, 0-1): Drewyor 11, Sisk 7, Sulffridge 6, Thomas 1
Boys
Hunstville 65, Berryville 48
Huntsville coach Grant Myrick earned his first conference win as the coach of the Eagles (7-4, 1-0) after his team routed Berryville.
"I feel good about it, man," Myrick said. "This is my first year in this conference, and I'm a new coach to Huntsville so I'm excited."
The Eagles handed the Bobcats (3-7, 0-1) their seventh consecutive loss behind a barrage of 3-pointers from Sean McCone and Kent Mayes. The duo combined for six of the team's nine 3-pointers.
"We started hitting some outside shots," Myrick said. "Everybody's been playing us zone because we've struggled to hit outside shots and I felt like tonight we stepped up."
McCone finished with a team-high 21 points and Mayes followed with 18 to pace Huntsville offense. Trenton Hutchinson scored 14 for Berryville, knocking down four 3-pointers.
Huntsville 65, Berryville 48
Berryville^15^17^5^11^--^48
Huntsville^20^18^12^15^--^65
Berryville (3-7, 0-1): Hutchinson 14, Webb 8, Chester 6, Kendrick 6, Davidson 4, Lehr 4, Smith 3, Peden 3
Huntsville (7-4, 1-0): McCone 21, Mayes 18, Whelchel 9, Bokbwij 9, Watkins 5, Eaton 3
Sports on 12/15/2018