The Tri-Valley Mustang girls and boys basketball teams hosted the Chester Flyers in the first home doubleheader of the 2021-2022 season on Friday, December 17th. The girls took the win over the Flyers 66-45. The Mustang boys lost 42-36.
Tri-Valley 66, Chester 45 – Girls
The Mustangs started fast and held an early 8-1 lead in the first quarter. Chester then had an 8-0 run to take a 9-8 lead. The Mustangs finished the quarter on an 9-3 run for a 17-12 lead after the first quarter. Chester regained the lead 25-24, but again Tri-Valley went on a run. The Mustangs closed the half on a 9-2 run for a 33-27 halftime lead.
Tri-Valley then had a big third quarter. The Mustangs outscored the Flyers 22-7 in the third quarter for a 55-34 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The two teams both scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.
Tri-Valley was 32% (24-74) from the field, 18% (5-28) from three-point area, and 59% (13-22) from the free-throw line. Chester shot just 23% (12-52) from the field, 25% (5-20) from three-point area, but 67% (16-24) from the free-throw line. The Mustangs forced 20 turnovers, including 15 steals.
Paige Jewett had 22 points and three rebounds. Lauren Grinde had 12 points, seven assists, five rebounds, and five steals. Ava Pearson had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Madelyn Wenzel added 10 points and seven rebounds. Steph Buchmann ended with nine points, six rebounds, and three assists.
Chester 42, Tri-Valley 36 – Boys
The Mustangs held a 10-point lead late in the third quarter, but the Flyers pulled off the comeback for a 42-36 win. Tri-Valley led 5-0 early, but Chester went on a 9-0 run for a 9-5 lead. The Mustangs cut the lead down to 12-11 by the end of the first quarter. Both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter, and Tri-Valley led 18-15 at halftime.
After Chester scored the first three points of the third quarter to tie the game 18-18, Tri-Valley went on a 10-0 run for a 28-18 lead. The Mustangs led 31-21 with 1:00 to play in the third quarter. The Flyers comeback started by scoring the final four points of the third quarter to make the score 31-25. Chester then outscored Tri-Valley 17-5 in the final quarter for the win.
Tri-Valley shot just 25% (14-56) from the field, 23% (7-31) from three-point area, and just 1-5 on free-throws. The Fyers were 32% (15-47) from the field, 27% (4-15) from three-point area, and 50% (8-16) from the free-throw line.
Cory McDonald had 14 points, three rebounds, and two assists. Lance DeWitt finished with eight points, seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals. Noah Haynes had four points, 15 rebounds, and three steals. Connor Christensen had four points and three rebounds. Brayden Oyen had three points, and Owen Besmer finished with two points and six rebounds.