BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — The Lady Panthers of Tug Valley punched their ticket to the big dance. They downed the Lady White Falcons of Wahama 44-26 on March 5 at the TVHS gym in the Class A, Region 4, Co-regional finals.
The No. 2–ranked Tug Valley Lady Panthers are now 21-2 and riding an impressive 17-game winning streak.
They earned their first state tournament berth in three years with the win over Wahama, who finished 16-7 in the co-final.
Kenzie Browning led a balanced scoring attack with 12 points for TVHS. Haven Deskins scored 10, Bailee Hall and Katie Hall each scored nine and Kylie DeBoard added four points.
Bailee Hall pulled down 17 rebounds to lead the Lady Panthers in that statistic. Katie Hall had seven boards and Deskins had six for Coach Seth Ooten’s team.
As they have done all season, the Lady Panthers forced several turnovers and came away with several steals on defense.
“We may have played our best defensive game of the season. I thought that the difference in the outcome of the game was our ability to get steals and pressure them in our full-court and half-court defense,” Coach Ooten said.
“I am proud of how these girls have become a team. The hard work that they have put in the offseason, staying late after practices and working hard during practices, is second to none. They deserve to be in the mix at the state tournament.”
Ooten was an assistant coach for former head coach Clyde Farley when Tug Valley won its only girls state championship back in 2021.
The 2025 girls state tourney takes place March 11-15 at the Charleston Coliseum.
The Lady Panthers received the No. 2 seed in the tournament. They will take on No. 7 Webster County at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 13.
Class A State Tournament seeds
Gilmer County (20-4)
Tug Valley (21-2)
Tucker County (16-6)
Cameron (17-3)
Pendleton County (16-6)
Greenbrier West (11-9)
Webster County (13-11)
Notre Dame (12-6)
Score by quarters:
Wahama: 8 2 9 7 – 26
Tug: 12 9 14 9 – 44