Both Etowah Teams Fall to Walton

The gym was not a happy place for the varsity Eagle teams Tuesday as both fell to visiting Walton.

The Lady Eagles, 13-2 for the season and 4-0 in the region coming into Tuesday's game, were ranked seventh in the state but could not get shots to fall as they struggled against the Lady Raiders. Walton led by two at the end of the first period and never lost the lead, holding on for a 47-40 win.

“We didn’t bring our ‘A’ game tonight,” said Etowah coach Bob Westbrook. “We didn’t play well. Walton played well and deserved to win. You can make a lot of excuses and blame it on the time off, but they outplayed us. We missed some easy shots.”

The Lady Eagles came out strong, stealing the ball three times before the Lady Raiders could take a shot, and Walton’s press was ineffective at first. But the ball wouldn’t go through the hoop for Etowah, despite repeated put-ups, and the Lady Eagles hit only three of 19 shots from the field in the opening period.

Things got no better in the second period, when only one of 20 shots from the field went in. Etowah got on track in the second half, outscoring Walton 13-12 in the third period and 16-15 in the fourth, but it wasn’t enough.

The Lady Eagles had balanced scoring, with Stephanie Huffman coming alive in the fourth period to score seven of her 13 points before she fouled out. Kaycee Cash scored six of her 12 points in the third period to help her team, and Payton Donley had a hot hand in the fourth period, scoring seven of her nine points, including back-to-back free throws with 1:01 left, to bring her team within four points.

Etowah’s boys, who were 4-11 overall and 0-4 in the region coming into the game, took an early 13-12 lead at the end of the first period on Will Mason’s shot at the buzzer. But Walton’s, now 10-5, boys hit full-throttle in the second period to take a 35-25 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Despite Austin Miramonti’s three 3-pointers and a free throw in the third period, Walton added two more points to its lead in the third, and increased its lead to 19 at the buzzer, for final score of 70-51.

Miramonti led Etowah's scoring with 19 and Harrison McLeod added 13.

“They out-athleted us,” said Etowah coach Don Hurlburt. “Transition defense killed us. We didn’t get back up the floor, and they got a lot of layups. Once we get 10-15 points behind, we’re going to struggle. They got the tempo of the game.”