After a tough early season loss at home against nonconference North Buncombe, the women’s varsity basketball team was out for revenge. Having lost 51-41 to the Lady Blackhawks on Dec. 2, a week before, the team was not going to settle for anything but a win.

Down by two going into the fourth quarter, the team scored 21 points to take the 48-44 win, their first win of the season.

According to junior Savannah Smith, their victory was fueled by years of experience. Several of the Lady Falcons have been playing together since the seventh grade or earlier. With such a long history, they have formed tight bonds on and off the court, Smith said.

“Having played with each other for so long, it’s easy to anticipate what your teammate is going to do,” Smith said. “We’re able to go out there and just have fun.”

The team finished the regular season 8-16 overall, 6-8 in the Western North Carolina Athletic Conference for the fifth seed. The team played at North Henderson last Thursday in the first round of the conference tournament.

In addition to the win over North Buncombe, the team defeated Hendersonville, Brevard (twice), Tuscola (twice) and East Henderson (twice).

Junior Taylor Houck led the team inpoints per game with an average of 13.3 while Smith led the conference in assists per game with 4.8. Smith also led the conference in percent of three-point shots made at 27 percent.

According to Coach Robbie Lowrance, the team lacked in size, but made up for it with speed.

“We hope to repeat last year’s success and make it to the conference finals, but that will be tough,” Lowrance said. “With a competitive conference like ours, it’s anybody’s game.”

Junior Kendall Gilliams said the team learned from each game.

“When we play a team the second time, we already know their game and their strategy,” Gilliams said. “We work on countering their strengths in the next game.”

By Sammuel Littauer