PIKEVILLE – Saturday’s 15th Region girls’ championship game came down to the final possession.
Shelby Valley’s attempted an inbounds pass with 1.7 seconds remaining but the ball went off the hands of the intended target and Pikeville escaped with a heart-stopping 39-38 victory.
Pikeville, now 26-7, advanced to the girls’ Sweet 16 next Wednesday against the Region 12 winner. Valley saw its year end at 22-9. The teams played five times this season with the Lady Panthers taking three out of five, including the biggest one all year.
Tournament MVP and Pikeville eighth-grade point guard Trinity Rowe was the lone starter in double figures as she finished with 10. Kelsey Jo Tackett tallied nine and McKenzie Maynard followed with eight, including four clutch free throws in the final seconds. Kirsten Cole-Williamson had nine rebounds.
Cassidy Rowe led the Lady Cats with 11 and Alyssa Elswick followed with 10.
At Pikeville
(15th Region Tournament)
SCORE BY QUARTERS:
PK (26-7)…..10 7 13 9 – 39
SV (22-9)……4 13 7 14 – 38
Scoring:
Pikeville (39) – Trinity Rowe 4 2-2 10; Kelsey Jo Tackett 0(3) 0-1 9; Alivia Gearheart 1(1) 1-2 6; Kirsten Cole-Williamson 2 2-4 6; McKenzie Maynard 1 6-6 8. Totals: 8(4) 11-15 39.
Shelby Valley (38) – Laci Johnson 1 4-4 6; Alyssa Elswick 5 0-0 10; Cassidy Rowe 3(1) 2-3 11; Tori Hampton 1 0-0 2; and Zoee Johnson 3 3-3 9. Totals: 13(1) 7-9 38.