BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

NAUGATUCK — The second-seeded Tug Valley Lady Panthers held off a fourth-quarter rally by Man on Monday night in a Class A, Section 1 semifinal match-up as they ended the Lady Hillbillies season with a 50-38 victory.

Man came into the tournament as the No. 3 seed.

With Tug up 45-22 early in the fourth quarter, Man went on a 16-0 run and pulled to within seven at 45-38 with 2:07 to play. This followed Megan McCoy converting a foul shot by Tug Valley’s Haven Deskins.

Late buckets by Tug Valley’s Bailee Hall and Katelynn Richardson and a free throw by Deskins preserved the victory for Coach Seth Ooten’s squad.

The game started slow as the Lady Panthers led 5-1 after one quarter. Tug came to life in the second, outscoring Man 20-6.

A bucket plus a foul, followed by a successful free throw by Hall with 55.1 seconds left in the third quarter, pushed the Lady Panthers lead to 19 at 39-20. Two shots from the charity stripe by Jace Baisden made it 39-22 after three.

Hall paced Tug Valley with 21 points while Deskins turned in 19. Richardson scored four points, Zoey Hensley scored three, and Brooke Spaulding scored one.

With the win, the Lady Panthers improved to 5-18 on the season. They traveled to Wayne County to face top-seeded Tolsia at 7 p.m. Thursday for the sectional title.

The Lady Rebels eliminated fourth-seeded Sherman on Monday.

Jace Baisden and Megan McCoy each scored 12 points for Man. Jenna Baisden scored 10 points and Braylee Thompson scored three.

Man’s season ended with a 1-19 overall record.

Score by quarters:
Man: 5 6 11 16 – 38
Tug: 1 20 18 11 – 50