BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

The Tug Valley Lady Panthers put together a dominant three-game run over the holidays, locking down opponents on defense and spreading the scoring in wins over Lewis County, Man and Phelps, including a pair of 66-point performances and a gritty road victory in a low-scoring battle.

These three convincing victories show the Panthers’ depth, balance and growing momentum under coach Seth Ooten.

TV 36, LC 30

The Lady Panthers of Tug Valley won a low-scoring game Saturday afternoon, beating Lewis County 36-30 on the road in Weston.

The Lady Panthers trailed 12-10 after one quarter, but fought back to take a 20-19 lead at the half.

Tug Valley turned up the pressure in the third quarter and held Lewis County to just 2 points while scoring 10 to increase the lead to 30-21.

Haven Deskins led a balanced scoring attack for TV with 10 points. Bailee Hall scored nine, Katie Hall eight, and Kylie DeBoard seven. Gracie Hynd added a basket for the Panthers.

Bailee Hall pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds, while Katie Hall had six boards. DeBoard and Hynd each dished out three assists.

Addie Curry led Lewis County with 10 points.

Score by quarters:
Tug: 10 10 10 6 – 36
LC: 12 7 2 9 – 30

Tug suffocates Man

The Lady Panthers suffocated the Man Lady Hillbillies 66-13 in the Kaydence Maynard Memorial Classic hoops event held at the TVHS gym in Naugatuck.

Tug Valley led 28-5 after one quarter and held the Lady Billies scoreless in the second frame to go ahead 40-5 at the half.

TVHS had a balanced scoring attack with Katie Hall scoring 11, Kylie DeBoard 10, Bailee Hall and Haven Deskins each with nine points, Katie Richardson six and Gracie Hynd nine off the bench. Laryn White also scored six off the pines for the Lady Panthers.

Score by quarters:
Man: 5 0 6 2 – 13
Tug: 28 12 15 11 – 66

Tug 66, Phelps 42

Tug Valley beat a tough Phelps team 66-42 in a New Year’s Eve game held in Raceland, Kentucky, in the Ohio River Classic.

Tug Valley is ranked No. 3 in Class A in the Mountain State. They entered this game with a 4-2 record.

Haven Deskins led a balanced scoring attack for Coach Seth Ooten with 22 points.

Katie Hall was named the Most Valuable Player for Tug Valley as she netted 16 points in the win and pulled down 13 rebounds.

Bailee Hall had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Kylie DeBoard scored five points and dished out five assists. Meanwhile, Gracie Hynd had five points, Katelyn Richardson four and Alexis Messer two.

Deskins led the squad with five steals for a stingy Tug Valley defense.

The Lady Panthers led 35-19 at the half.

K. Slone led the Lady Hornets of Phelps with 13 points, while C. McCoy and K. Yates both netted seven.

Score by quarters:
Tug: 13 20 22 9 – 66
Phelps: 11 8 15 8 – 42