Derrick Webb, Managing Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — They say the third time’s a charm.
And, after suffering two regular season losses to Southern Ohio Conference rival South Webster during the regular season, the Valley Indians proved that statement to be true on Monday night.
Behind a double-double from Katelyn Queen, who was dominant in the early goings, and a suffocating defense, Valley (15-9) handed the Jeeps a 37-29 loss in a Division VI district semifinal at Southeastern High School.
South Webster bested Valley twice in January this winter. But the Indians won it mattered the most — with each team’s season on the line.
“I’m very proud of them,” Cunningham said. “I have a really good group of kids. They really executed well. We haven’t played man [defense] all year. We’ve really stuck to our 1-3-1 and we really just took this week to prepare, and decided to play man. I thought we had a good matchup with [South Webster] and our girls worked really hard. They were hungry for this, for sure.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Queen, a 6-foot junior, got the night’s festivities started with two free throws before South Webster’s Natalee Eskridge hit a 3 to give the Jeeps a brief 3-2 lead with 4:45 left in the first quarter.
Valley went ahead 5-3 with a 3-ball from Brooke Riehl and Queen scored again for a 7-3 count. Thompson then got involved with 2:48 to go before Queen hit back-to-back buckets to cap an 11-0 run, making it 13-3 with 1:21 to play.
But South Webster (12-10) didn’t back down.The Jeeps got a 3 from Addi Claxon to stop the momentum before going into the second facing a 15-6 deficit.
Queen hit the front end of two free throws early in the second, pushing the lead back to 10, but SW’s Violet Edwards, Ava Claxon and Addi Claxon all scored in the following minutes, producing an 8-0 run for a 16-14 count with 2:22 left before halftime.
It was game on from that point on.
Queen stopped the bleeding but Addi Claxon had an answer on the other end with 1:44 left. Thompson then scored with just 10.1 seconds remaining, giving Valley a 20-16 lead at the break.
PHOTOS: Images from Valley’s district semifinal win over South Webster
“We were on Ella and Katelyn and told them, ‘Hey, you guys have to have a game.’ They did that,” Cunningham said. “Brooke [Riehl] has had some killer practices here and we knew she’d come out and have a game. She’s been having a hard time getting back [from an ankle injury] a little bit and is still dealing with some pain. But I thought she was excellent tonight.”
Valley’s Austin Frantz began the second half with a 3-ball before Ava Claxon answered on the other end with a triple of her own. But when Thompson hit yet another triple with 6:25 to go, and then scored again at the 3:35 mark, it gave the Indians a 28-19 advantage and all the momentum in the world.
That nine-point edge swelled to 11 by the start of the fourth at 32-21 and when Riehl scored to begin the fourth, it gave Valley its largest lead of the night at 34-21.
Although South Webster did everything it could to remain in the game, the hole was already too deep to climb out of as the Indians’ defense continued to play well, negating any open scoring chances while clogging passing lanes.
“We pride ourselves on defense and I think the girls will tell you that, too,” Cunningham said. “We spend a lot of time on that in practice. They take it to heart and I thought we played with a lot of heart tonight, which was awesome to see. I don’t know when the last time Valley was in a district championship, but it’s been a minute. So I’m excited for them.”
Queen led the Indians’ efforts with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds while Thompson added 10 points, three boards and two assists. Riehl finished with four points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Addi Claxon led the Jeeps with eight points, six rebounds and two assists while Ava Claxon added eight points and five rebounds. Eskridge also chipped in with six points.
While South Webster’s season comes to an end, Valley advances to a Division VI district championship game at 1 p.m., Saturday at Southeastern High School.
The Indians will meet with top-seeded Federal Hocking, who beat Lynchburg-Clay by a 68-53 final to advance.
“Like we did tonight, we’ll have a little chip on our shoulder,” Cunningham said. “Federal Hocking beat us last year in the district semifinals, so we know what to expect. They play with a lot of pressure on defense. We’ll just work until Saturday to prepare for it. But we’re excited for it. We’re pumped.”
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