Maysville outlasts Tri-Valley, keeps title hopes alive

ZANESVILLE, Ohio — In one of the most exciting high school basketball games you’ll ever see, Maysville survived in overtime to beat Tri-Valley by a final of 61-58 on Saturday night.

It was a tight game throughout, and the Lady Dawgs found themselves ahead for most of the night. Both teams struggled from the field in the first half as Tri-Valley took a slim 20-19 lead into the locker room.

But both teams, and their star players, showed up in the second half. Kyndal Howe scored 8 of her 14 points for the Scotties in the third frame as they took a 40-36 lead into the final quarter. That’s when Bailee Smith took over for the Lady Cats.

Smith hit three three-pointers, and scored 11 of her 18 points  in the final 8 minutes. It was almost a 13-point quarter for Smith as she found herself alone for a wide-open layup on the final play of the game, but Smith didn’t get the shot off in time and the basket was waved off sending the game to overtime tied at 52.

Alysa Edwards-Frick would score the opening basket in bonus time, but it would be her only contribution in overtime as she fouled out shortly after. Edwards-Frick finished with 20 points on the night to lead all scorers.

Unfortunately for the Scotties, who were already short-handed with Lauren King out sick, saw Kyndal Howe foul out shortly after Edwards-Frick. And Alivia Bash, who suffered a knee injury in the fourth-quarter, returned briefly before having to leave the game for good.

With Tri-Valley low on players, Maysville took advantage. Rylie Winsor hit a big three-pointer to give the Panthers a 55-54 lead that they would not relinquish. Winsor lead all scorers with 6 points in the overtime period.

Tri-Valley had one last chance on the final play of the game, but Gabee Bryan’s three-point attempt was no good, eliminating the Scotties from contention for a share of the MVL title.

Maysville, with the win on Saturday night, paired with a win next week at Philo will join Sheridan as co-MVL champions.