During the opening minutes of Thursday's girls' basketball game between East Hamilton and Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe, it looked like East Hamilton's Hayes sisters were going to keep all the scoring in the family.
Junior Madison Hayes and freshman McKenna Hayes scored 17 first-quarter points as they led the Lady Hurricanes to a dominant 60-42 win in the first round of the Best of Preps Tournament at Chattanooga State.
"It's a good feeling," East Hamilton coach Hunter Gremore said about the Hayes' ability to take over a game offensively. "We love for it to be balanced, but the good thing is that we shouldn't have long stretches where we can't score."
East Hamilton (10-6) jumped out to a commanding lead early, outscoring LFO 18-4 to start the game and leading 22-13 at the end of the first quarter. Madison Hayes - who led the Lady Canes with 22 points - dominated on the inside with eight points in the period, while McKenna Hayes was 3-of-6 from behind the arc for nine points.
"The key to our offense is hitting perimeter shots," Gremore said. "It really opens things up and makes us tough to stop because you can't isolate and it opens up the lanes to drive."
After extending their lead to 17 at halftime, the Lady Canes took full control in the third quarter as they went into the final period leading 49-23.
While much of the focus is on the Hayes sisters, East Hamilton's Eliziah Laboo is not-so-quietly becoming a dominant post presence and a consistent inside scorer. Laboo had 13 points for the Lady Canes and was a force on the offensive and defensive glass.
With Madison Hayes out of the game, LFO (4-9) mounted a small comeback in the fourth quarter led by Macey Gregg and Malijah Williams, opening the period on an 11-1 run to shrink East Hamilton's lead to 16 points.
Gremore promptly put the older Hayes back in the game, and she scored on three straight possessions to propel the Lady Canes to the final margin. She finished with 22 points and sister McKenna had 12.
Gregg led LFO with 22 points, while Williams chipped in 15.
East Hamilton faces Signal Mountain in a semifinal set for 4 p.m. today, while LFO takes on GPS in a consolation matchup and today's opening game at 10 a.m.
Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com.