BLUFF CITY, Tenn. – In what has been a season of struggles filled with disappointing defeats, Sullivan East High School's girls basketball team got a respite from the distress on Wednesday as Kylie Hurley provided some much-needed joy.
One swish at a time.
Hurley sank all seven 3-point shots she attempted on a night in which she scored a career-high 23 points as East earned a 78-66 victory over the Union Bears.
A 5-foot-6 senior guard, Hurley made four 3s in the first half and drained three more over the course of the final two quarters to help the Patriots post their third win of the season. To say she was locked in would not be doing her performance justice.
“I made that first one,” Hurley said. “After that I knew I could shoot with confidence.”
People are also reading…
Each time Union (6-9) got back in the game, the Bears were hurt by Hurley.
“We tried everything,” said first-year Union coach Wes Slagle. “Everything. We tried face-guarding her. It just seemed on broken plays the ball ended up in her hands and she drilled it and that’s a credit to her. … She had an unbelievable game tonight.”
The one shot she made that was not a 3-pointer was impressive as she came up with a steal and converted a layup in the final moments of the third quarter as East extended its lead to 59-47.
“Kylie Hurley lit it up out there,” said first-year East coach Kara Stafford. “That was great for her and will boost her confidence.”
Sophomore Paulina Hofer (17 points), junior Asia Cairns (14 points) and junior Addison Holly (10 points) were also key contributors in perhaps East’s most complete performance of the season. The Patriots (3-14) made 14 3-pointers and never trailed in beating Union for the second time this season.
“We were pretty lights out,” Stafford said. “When you’re shooting like that the offense flows, the defense flows and it was a great night for us.”
The Patriots certainly didn’t look like a three-win club on this night.
“Shooting the ball like that,” Slagle said. “I don’t know anybody around they couldn’t play with.”
East certainly appears headed in the right direction.
“The team we were at the start of the season to the team we are now are two completely different teams and I told them that,” Stafford said. “It’s obviously been a long and tough journey, but I’m proud of their perseverance and the program is making progress.”
That was evident on Tuesday when East built a 14-point lead before dropping a 64-61 decision to Elizabethton.
“I think since after Christmas break we’ve definitely stepped it up,” Hurley said. “Even though we’ve had some losses and a few of them hurt us, we’ve grown as a team.”
At 26-years-old, Stafford is one of the youngest head hoops coaches in Northeast Tennessee.
She is staying positive in her debut season calling the shots at her alma mater.
“It’s definitely a learning process,” Stafford said. “You learn every day and you learn every practice
We just try to instill in them and preach to them that you have to get better every day, including me. I make mistakes, but I have a great coaching staff that helps me out. We try to build on the day before.”
Slagle – 23-years-old when he was hired to take over the Union program back in the summer – is also learning on the job with a team whose roster is comprised of three seniors, two juniors, four sophomores and four freshmen.
Ninth-grader Katelynn Witt led the Bears with 18 points, while senior Jordan Shuler (18 points) and freshman Kynlee Johnson (12 points) also scored in double digits.
Slagle was forced to call a timeout 53 seconds into the game when Union fell behind 7-0.
The Bears recovered and weren’t completely put away by East until the game’s final two minutes.
“All we ask of our girls is just they go out and compete and I really feel they’ve competed hard all season,” Slagle said. “The scoreboard doesn’t always reflect that, but I’m so proud of our team. We got down early and we just kept fighting. I feel like we played so hard and I have no bad things to say.”
Just like Hurley had no bad shots on Wednesday in a showing she will never forget.
“It feels great,” she said with a smile.
UNION (66) – Davidson 3 0-2 6, Witt 8 2-4 19, Hughes 4 0-0 8, Rutherford 1 0-2 3, Shuler 8 2-3 18, Hash 0 0-0 0, King 0 0-0 0, K. Johnson 4 4-8 12, Jones 0 0-0 0. Totals 28 8-19 66.
SULLIVAN EAST (78) – Cox 0 0-0 0, McCarter 3 1-2 9, Hurley 8 0-0 23, Hofer 6 4-6 17, Cairns 5 2-2 14, S. Johnson 2 1-4 5, Holly 3 2-2 10. Totals 27 10-16 78.
Union 17 12 18 19—66
Sullivan East 23 14 22 19—78
3-Point goals – U 2 (Rutherford, Witt), SE 14 (Hurley 7, Cairns 2, Holly 2, McCarter 2, Hofer). JV game – East won, 56-27.