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University High 45, Sullivan North 20

The Lady Bucs jumped out to a 12-0 early lead in the first quarter and it was all University High on Thursday night in a dominant conference win.

The Lady Golden Raiders did not get on the board until 42.6 seconds left in the first quarter as the UH defense was smothering and North was hoisting up bad shots.

Calli Newberry led the Lady Bucs with 13 points while Sarah Fisher coupled 12 points with five steals and Gracie Crabtree netted 11. Courtney Hensley finished with 11 rebounds.

The Lady Raiders were led by Hannah Mullins with 11 and hit four of North's five field goals on the night.

University High improves to 14-13 overall and 2-8 in the league while North drops to 9-13 and 0-10 in the conference. The official game time was one hour and 10 minutes.

It's a typical game night and there is no time to spare for Calli Newberry.

She has just finished playing basketball for the University High girls' team, but there's just 10 minutes until she has to be back on the floor. Don't worry, she has this routine down pat.

She quickly changes out of her No. 22 basketball uniform, gets cleaned up and puts on her cheerleading outfit. From there, her mom will come and assist with her hair and makeup before she gets out on the court.

It's just one of the challenges Newberry faces doing both roles, but the University High senior said it's been well worth it.

"It's definitely been hard," she said. "Whenever I decided I was going to cheer, I had to talk to (University High girls basketball) Coach (Herman) Rice about it. He said after games I could go straight to the locker room and get dressed. That's what I've done ever since I've been cheering.

"There have been times I've had to learn the cheers during the boys' game and then perform the same cheer I just learned. It's been hard, but I've really enjoyed it."

The double-duty isn't unique, as Sarah-Catherine Fowler did it for University High nine years ago. She also excelled at both and was also a key player on the soccer team. ETSU women's coach Brittney Ezell recalled her best friend in high school both played and cheered. For Newberry to do both, it took cooperation from Rice and cheerleading coach Jennifer Daniel.

"Callie approached me before the season and asked me what I thought about her playing basketball and then cheering for the boys' game," Rice said. "Callie's just a special young lady, a great student, a great kid and I thought if that's what she wants to do, we're going to support her doing it. There haven't been any conflicts whatsoever and she's been one of our best basketball players."

Newberry had wanted to do both activities since her freshman year, but one of her former coaches wasn't keen on the idea. Coach Daniel, whose son Colin plays on the boys' team, was open to giving it a try. She praised Newberry's commitment and talked about how the coaches have worked together to help her out.

"There haven't been any problems at all," Daniel said. "Coach Rice has been so accommodating. There have been a couple of times I've told him that we're learning something new at practice, and have asked if Callie could miss some of basketball practice to be there. We've worked together to make that happen where she could learn the most with both sports."

Newberry has played basketball since five years old and she has a true passion for the game. She has put more work in the gym than ever before for her senior season, in which the Lady Bucs have already hitting double-digit wins. She is a starter who typically plays a lot of minutes — and her coach has never once had to question her effort.

"I've often wondered how she has the energy to cheer because she leaves it on the floor every night," Rice said. "She plays a ton of minutes and she comes out covered with sweat because she's all about hard work. Then it's amazing to see the transition where she goes from a player to a few minutes later, she's all cleaned up and out there as a cheerleader."

Newberry, who plans to enroll in the ETSU nursing program after high school, went to both basketball and cheerleading camps over the summer. She quickly made friends with the other cheerleaders and has since made quite an impression on them and her coach.

"It is amazing to see her get off the court, rush to get ready and learn what the girls are doing. She hasn't missed a beat," Daniel said. "It's been great to have her on the team. I'm pleased how it's worked out for her and for us."

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University High 62, Tri-Cities Christian 20

Sarah Fisher went 6 of 8 from the field, scoring 14 points in the Lady Bucs' romp over the Lady Eagles.

Delaney Trosin hit double figures with 11 points. Calli Newberry scored nine, while Amari Johnson and Courtney Henley each scored eight. Becca Rice grabbed 10 rebounds.

Sarah Rice had 12 of Tri-Cities' 20 points.

KINGSPORT — University High came to Sullivan North on Friday and gave they Golden Raiders a Watauga Valley basketball lesson.

In the opener, the Lady Bucs schooled the Lady Golden Raiders 51-31 while in the nightcap, the Bucs passed their test with a 64-50 win over the Raiders.

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Lady Bucs 51, Lady Raiders 31

University High (10-10, 1-4) got high marks for a fast start. Callie Newberry opened the contest with a 3-pointer and the Lady Bucs never looked back. After the first period of play they led 18-3 and North just couldn't muster enough offense to retaliate.

"We knew coming over here we had a chance to get a conference win," said Newberry, who finished with 14 points. "But we still had to work hard to earn it. Right now, it really feels great."

Mauri Johnson added 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots for UH.

Lilly Crawford led North (7-8, 0-5) with 10 points.

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GIRLS

University High 53, Providence Academy 29

Mauri Johnson scored 13 points and hauled in 17 rebounds to lead the Lady Bucs over the Lady Knights.

Courtney Henley finished with nine points, eight rebounds and three steals, while Callie Newberry had eight points and seven rebounds.

Christen Sholes had 16 points and Katie Cross had 11 to finish with 27 of Providence's 29 points.

University High's smothering defense gave Happy Valley little chance Monday night in their non-conference basketball game. The Bucs' red-hot shooting from 3-point range gave the Warriors no chance.

Holding the Warriors to just 21 points through three quarters and hitting 15 of 31 shots behind the 3-point arc, the Bucs romped to a 69-44 win at Brooks Gym.

Marshall Fleenor led the way with 20 points, 15 of them coming on 3-point goals.

"We had good execution coming out," Fleenor said. "We moved ball well and coming off the screens, we got open shots. If the shots weren't there, we found the open man."

Kaleb Meredith totaled a dozen points, while Colin Daniel and Charlie Vargo each ended with 11.

University High was ahead 17-2 early in the second quarter and led by double digits the rest of the way. It was 32-14 at halftime and 46-21 by the end of the third quarter.

"Obviously, very pleased with the defensive effort. I thought our guys were dialed in from the opening tip," University High coach Justin Penley said. "We got off to a good start and although we weren't fluid on offense early, we were more efficient as the game went on."

Bryce Carter paced Happy Valley with 13 points and Noah Stevens was next with seven points. Despite the outcome, all 11 Happy Valley players scored.

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Girls

Happy Valley 32, University High 23

The Lady Warriors held the Lady Bucs to just three points in the first quarter and two in the third to win their 10th straight game.

Happy Valley did particularly well with a 2-1-2 full court zone trap, forcing a slew of second-half turnovers.

"I think the last time we played them, we had a good defensive third quarter as well," Lady Warriors coach Thomas Gouge said. "We got after them a little bit with the traps and the interceptors did a good job, getting some steals."

Shalyn Whitson was the only player for either team in double figures, recording 11 points. Bailey Ball scored eight and Olivia Absher finished with six for Happy Valley.

"I'm proud of how we're playing," Gouge said. "Sometimes, you have to win ugly. We won ugly on the road and we'll take it."

Mauri Johnson led University High with eight points and Sarah Fisher had five.

Hampton 40, UH 28

Stephanie Campbell beat the buzzer twice and Hampton's girls beat University High.

Campbell drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Lady Bulldogs a 15-9 halftime lead. She added a layup at the third-quarter buzzer and the Lady Bulldogs won going away.

Campbell finished with 22 points.

After UH scored the first five points of the second half to climb within a point, Hampton went on an 8-0 run, which in this game was a monumental accomplishment. It put the Lady Bulldogs up 23-14 and it turned out to be too much for the Lady Bucs to withstand.

Campbell's third-quarter buzzer-beater put Hampton up 31-18 and UH's deficit never got below double digits the rest of the way.

Hampton improved to 6-13 overall, 2-1 in the Watauga Valley Conference. UH fell to 8-8, 0-3.

UH was led by Callie Newberry's nine points.

Photo gallery: UH vs. Hampton girls' basketball
Joe Avento • Updated Jan 8, 2019 at 6:46 PM

Girls

Unaka 52, University High 39

Madison Pierce scored 15 points and Myah Parlier had 14 points and nine rebounds as the Lady Rangers overcame a 24-18 halftime deficit to down the Lady Bucs.

Savannah Tipton added 11 points for Unaka (7-8, 2-0 WVC), which pulled away late after having better shot selection in the second half.

"They were packing in on Myah inside and we weren't taking shots in the first half," Unaka coach Kenneth Chambers said. "We had some players like Tara Whitehead come off the bench to make shots. It was a tough conference game and we knew we would have our hands full. We did a better job defensively in the second half. We just have to put four quarters together."

Sarah Fisher had 11 points to lead University High (8-7, 0-2), while Amari Johnson totaled 10 points and 10 rebounds.

CHARLESTON, S.C.—University High has garnered a berth in the Carolina Invitational championship game of its division.

The Lady Bucs did so by defeating Augusta (Ga.) Prep 32-19 in Friday's semifinal round.

Gracie Crabtree and Calli Newberry poured in eight points apiece for UH (8-5), with Bekah Rice netting six points to go with 15 rebounds.

The Bucs will play at 2:30 p.m. in Saturday's final.

In other Carolina action from Friday, Happy Valley bested West Ashley, S.C. 37-32 and David Crockett was edged 41-39 by host team Cane Bay.

CHARLESTON, S.C.—With Adrienne Henegar setting a sizzling pace of 36 points, Happy Valley routed Cross (S.C.) 53-23 on Thursday in the Carolina Invitational.

Henegar did the bulk of her scoring with a school-record nine 3-pointers.

On top 20-13 at halftime, the Lady Warriors broke the game open with a 22-5 third quarter.

Happy Valley plays South Carolina's West Ashley (5-1) on Friday.

University High, David Crockett and Cherokee are also participating in the tournament.

University High 43

Orangeburg, S.C. 28

CHARLESTON, S.C.—Mauri Johnson's 11-point, 11-rebound double-double anchored University High's conquest of Orangeburg Prep (S.C.).

Calli Newberry also had 11 points of her own for UH (7-5), which got eight from Gracie Crabtree. Bekah Rice had 6 points to go with nine rebounds.

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GIRLS

Callie Newberry and Sarah Fisher scored 16 points apiece to lead the Lady Bucs (4-2) over the Lady Blues. Both of them made three shots from 3-point range.

Gracie Crabtree also landed in double figures with 10 points. University High was up 44-11 at the half. Sasha Jones paced Asheville with nine points.

A sizzling start was followed by a strong second quarter.

Yes, it was a good opening act for University High's 2018-19 basketball season.

The Buccaneers rolled past Washburn, invoking the mercy rule in a 67-33 whipping Friday night at Brooks Gym.

"You always want to get that first one, and get it out of the way," said Bucs' head coach Justin Penley. "I was really happy with the way our kids came out and competed, especially early on."

In the girls game, University High held off Washburn in overtime, winning 48-43.

DOMINANT

Kaleb Meredith did damage everywhere. He dropped an 18-spot in the points category, knocked down a pair of trey balls, grabbed four o-boards and three d-boards for 11 total rebounds, and even added an assist, steal and a block.

Meredith was part of the mix that allowed UH to build a 22-7 lead after one quarter.

Marshall Fleenor — with 13 points, six rebounds and a pair of 3-pointers — was part of a night where the Bucs seemed to be having fun.

"We want our kids to enjoy their time in high school," said Penley. "A lot of times that comes from winning, so we've got to put the work in every day when we practice so we can have fun in the games."

Jake Hubbard finished with nine points and six rebounds while Charlie Vargo totaled nine points and four rebounds.

UH led 41-15 at halftime and added 10 more points to its lead by the end of the third quarter.

GIRLS

UH held a 12-point fourth-quarter lead, but it didn't last.

Getting nice efforts from Sarah Bailey (20 points) and Tori Coffman (15), Washburn got a late bucket to tie and UH missed a chance to get off a last-second shot in regulation.

Courtney Henley and Calli Newberry each hit a pair of free throws in overtime, and Delaney Trosin added her only bucket of the game. UH outscored Washburn 6-1 in the extra period.

Henley led UH with 15 points. Sarah Fisher hit a trio of treys and finished with 13 points.

With five seniors and Science Hill transfer Amari Johnson (6-1, Jr.), who should make a major impact in the post, on their roster, the Lady Bucs could be the surprise team of the league.

University High seniors include Sarah Fisher, Bekah Rice, Callie Newberry, Gracie Crabtree and Courtney Henley, who missed last season with an injury. Johnson adds an inside presence, which along with improved guard play, gives the Lady Bucs some versatility.

"We're excited about this group. They work hard and they work well together," University High coach Herman Rice said. "They're jelling and coming together and playing as one team. It's just with our league, the teams don't rebuild, they reload. You have a team in our conference make the state tournament about every year."

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