The Tri-Valley Mustang girls have won their last two games. The Mustangs traveled to Lennox to play the Orioles on Thursday, February 10th and came home with a 49-47 victory. Tri-Valley then hosted the Milbank Bulldogs on Saturday, February 12th, winning 46-36.
Tri-Valley 49, Lennox 47
Ava Pearson grabbed an offensive rebound and hit the game-winning put back with :08 to go to give the Mustangs a 49-47 win in a back and forth game. The two teams battled all game long, trading leads throughout the game.
Lennox had the lead at the first quarter break at 13-10. Tri-Valley took the lead at halftime by outscoring the Orioles 12-7. The Mustangs had a 22-20 lead at halftime. Lennox had the advantage again at the end of this quarter, but this time only by a point, 36-35. The Orioles pushed their lead to five points, 44-39, with 5:00 to go in the game. Tri-Valley went on a 5-0 over the next :45 to tie the game 44-44. Lennox led 46-45 with 2:30 to play, but Pearson made a layup to give the Mustangs a 47-46 lead. After the Orioles tied the game 47-47, the next basket in the game was Pearson’s game winner.
The Mustangs shot 46% (19-41) from the field, 46% (6-13) from three-point area, and 3-6 from the free-throw line. Lennox finished shooting 39% (16-41), 37% (7-19) on three pointers, and 8-12 from the free-throw line.
Pearson had 14 points, 10 rebounds, and an assist. Lauren Grinde finished with 10 points, six rebounds, and two steals. Paige Jewett had nine points, three rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Stephanie Buchmann had seven points and two assists. Hillary Hastings added six points, five rebounds, and two assists.
Tri-Valley 46, Milbank 36
The Mustangs turned a 20-20 tie at halftime into a 10-point win thanks to a big third quarter on Saturday against the Bulldogs. Tri-Valley trailed 11-7 at the end of the first quarter, but rallied to tie Milbank by halftime. The Mustangs then outscored Milbank 13-5 in the third quarter to build a 33-25 lead heading into the fourth quarter. The Mustangs then outscored the Bulldogs 13-11 in the final quarter in the win.
Tri-Valley finished shooting 35% (15-43) from the field, 31% (5-16) from three-point area, and 69% (11-16) from the free-throw line. Milbank was 30% (14-47) shooting, just 1-8 on three pointers, and 7-12 from the free-throw line. The Mustangs also forced 21 Milbank turnovers.
Grinde had 15 points, four rebounds, and six steals. Jewett also had 15 points and four rebounds. Buchmann finished with nine points, six rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Pearson added five points, four rebounds, and four blocked shots.
Tri-Valley (11-8) will wrap their regular season on the road at McCook Central/Montrose on Monday, February 14th.
