The Hive Sports

by James Tate

The Davis Darts opened an 11-point first-quarter lead over the Westlake Thunder and had to fend off a late fourth-quarter Thunder surge. Darts’ leading scorer, junior T’Maea Eteauti, went down late in the fourth quarter with a leg injury, but the Darts pulled together and closed out the Thunder to move into the 6A semi-finals. Junior Chloe Peery and sophomore Kate Willard grabbed crucial rebounds off free throw misses in the fourth quarter to seal the victory for the Darts.

In addition to the late crucial rebounds, the Darts held a 41-35 advantage over the Thunder in total rebounds. Defensively, the Darts forced the Thunder to shoot 37% from the field and held the Thunder’s leading scorer, sophomore Avery Thompson, to four points. Thompson averaged 10.3 points on the season but could never find her rhythm offensively.

Game highlights

In the first quarter, the number six seed Darts came out fast and took the game to the number three seed Thunder. Five Dart players scored points in the opening quarter, led by senior Mari Nichols’ five points. Willard’s shot at the end of the first quarter gave the Darts a 15-4 lead.

The Thunder would shake off the slow start offensively and score 15 points in the second quarter, with five points from Kierra Hester and five from Ava Chaney. The Thunder’s defense would hold the Darts to four points in the quarter until Eteuati swished a three-point basket with 2:45 on the clock. Eteuati added another three-point basket at the buzzer, giving the Darts a 27-19 halftime lead.

The Thunder would only cut the Darts lead by one in an evenly played third quarter. Thompson and Willard were the leading scorers for their respective teams, scoring four points in the quarter. The Darts led 43-38 at the 3:00 mark in the fourth quarter after a basket by Nichols. In a battle for a loose ball, Eteuati went down in pain and walked gingerly off the court after receiving attention from the team’s medical staff.

Before leaving the game, Eteuati controlled the pace with her fearless drives to the basket and led the team in scoring and rebounding. The Thunder fouled Dart players in the final minute and hoped for missed free throws. The Darts would convert on three of 12 free throws in the final minute, but effort rebounds by Peery and Willard off misses were the key plays in the Darts 46-44 win.

Outstanding performers

Eteuati’s 14 points led all scorers, and her seven rebounds tied with Willard for the game high. Willard finished the game with 12 points and seven rebounds, and Nichols scored in double figures with 11 points.

Hester led the Thunder with 13 points, and Ella Seymore scored eight points and pulled down seven rebounds.

photos courtesy of James Tate