Tug Valley defeats Wirt County 55-22

BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

NAUGATUCK, W.Va. — The Lady Panthers of Tug Valley won the catfight over the Wirt County Lady Tigers 55-22 in Super Regional Tournament action Friday night at the TVHS gym at Naugatuck.

The No. 2 ranked Tug Valley squad jumped out to a 17-6 lead after the first quarter and led 27-9 at halftime.

They continued to dominate the game on both ends of the court to advance in the Class A field.

The Lady Panthers of Coach Seth Ooten had four players in double figures. Three players scored 14 points each—Haven Deskins, Bailee Hall and Katie Hall—while Kenzie Browning netted 10 points. Katelyn Richardson had a basket off the bench and Kylie DeBoard rounded out the scoring with a foul shot for one point.

Bailee Hall pulled down 17 rebounds for another double-double, while Katie Hall hauled in nine rebounds. Bailee Hall also had five steals, while Browning had four takeaways. DeBoad led TVHS with five assists.

“Wirt County was a tough defensive team and was coached very well,” Coach Ooten said. “Very proud of the girls and how they played. Sometimes nerves can take over when you start talking about elimination play. But I felt we played one of our best defensive games and also had four scoring in double digits. When you have a team performance like that, it makes you dangerous.”

T. McCoy led Wirt County High School, located in Elizabeth, West Virginia, with eight points.

Tug Valley will now host Wahama in their next tourney contest Wednesday, March 5.

Score by quarters:

Wirt: 6 3 8 5 – 22

Tug: 17 10 17 11 – 55