Hoggard girls basketball stuns Ashley behind terrific guard play

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Anya Massey found herself wide open beyond the 3-point arc for the second straight possession.

Less than 30 seconds after she drained a deep shot from the top of the key, the Hoggard sophomore point guard lined up another 3-pointer (this time from the left wing) and again hit nothing but net. 

Those shots gave the Vikings a nine-point lead over Ashley early in the second quarter, and they were able to hold off a late scare to secure 53-45 upset victory over the defending Mideastern Conference champions on Wednesday night.

“I thought as the point guard last year I needed to be a passer rather than a scorer, but I’m learning how to score more and also help my team that way,” said Massey, who finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

In the loss, Ashley standout senior guard Saniya Rivers reached 2,000 career points. She entered the game eight points shy of the milestone. A three-point play with 7:02 remaining in the second quarter got her to within one point and she surpassed 2,000 points on a coast-to-coast layup a little less than two minutes later.

Rivers finished with a game-high 25 points, but she struggled from the field as Hoggard (2-0) sent multiple defenders at her. The South Carolina signee’s only other loss against a Mideastern Conference opponent also came against the Vikings when she was a freshman at Laney. 

“We’ve been competing against Saniya for the past four years and she’s made everything so hard for everybody because she’s a special player,” Hoggard coach Boubacar Aw said. “I thought my girls came out and were aggressive and that’s what I told them to do.”

Massey’s back-to-back 3-pointers sparked a 19-4 run that gave the Vikings a 33-15 halftime advantage.

Ashley (2-1) was able to cut the deficit to nine points entering the fourth quarter and it was 36-30 following a 3-pointer from Lexi Hinson with 7:48 on the clock. 

Hoggard immediately responded with a layup from Jadah Armour that sparked an 8-0 run. The Screaming Eagles made one more comeback effort and got to within five with 1:25 left, but they couldn’t get any closer.

Lexi Steed sealed the victory with a layup off an assist from Icess Tresvik with 32 seconds remaining. 

Tresvik scored a team-high 14 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists. The Vikings also got 10 points from Lacy Lovitt as well as eight points and eight rebounds from Madeline Elgart.

Hinson drained four 3-pointers and finished with 15 points for Ashley.