BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

Tug Valley Lady Panthers kept rolling with a pair of strong performances on the road last week. They used a balanced scoring attack and relentless defense to notch back-to-back victories over regional foe Tolsia 63-41 and Pike County Central 73-60.

The Class A No. 2 Lady Panthers improved to 13-3 on the season as postseason play approaches.

Lady Panthers down Lady Rebels

The Lady Panthers downed regional rival Tolsia 63-41, Monday, Feb. 2 at Rebel Arena in Glenhayes.

Katie Hall led the way with 16 points, Kylie DeBoard scored 13, Haven Deskins scored 12, while Baille Hall and Gracie Hynd each scored eight.

Bailee Hall pulled down 13 rebounds, dished out four assists and had four steals. Katie Hall grabbed eight boards for Coach Seth Ooten’s squad.

Katelyn Richardson scored four points and Brooke Spaulding added a basket for two for the Lady Panthers.

Olivia Kelly led the Lady Rebels with 11 points, while G. Vance and K. Preece each chipped in seven points.

Tug Valley jumped out to a 16-6 lead after the first quarter of play and led 38-17 at halftime. The Lady Panthers used their tenacious defense to get steals and force several turnovers, which they converted into easy buckets in the first half.

The Lady Panthers outscored Tolsia 18-12 in the first quarter, then coasted to the win, sweeping Tolsia in two regular-season games.

Tolsia saw its record fall to 8-8.

Score by quarters:
Tug: 16 22 18 10 – 63
Tolsia: 6 11 12 19 – 41

Tug Valley 73, Pike Central 60

The Lady Panthers traveled into the Bluegrass State to take on the Lady Hawks of Pike County Central at Buckley’s Creek, Saturday, Feb. 7. Tug Valley came away with a convincing 73-60 victory with a very balanced scoring attack.

All five of Coach Seth Ooten’s starters scored in double figures.

Point guard Kylie DeBoard led the way with 16 points, while Katie Hall banked in 15, Katelyn Richardson scored 14, Haven Deskins netted 12 and Bailee Hall added 10. Gracie Hynd contributed five off the bench for TV.

Bailee Hall had another double-double, pulling down 16 rebounds. DeBoard had a team-high eight assists.

Deskins had eight rebounds, Katie Hall seven and Richardson five.

Larah Stanley scored 22 to lead Pike Central, while Cyndney Snodgrass scored 11.

The Lady Panthers led 37-22 at halftime and held the lead in the second half to come away with their 13th victory of the season.

Score by quarters:
Tug: 12 25 15 21 – 73
PC: 9 13 14 23 – 60