Indian Valley advances; several area girls teams see seasons end

Indian Valley's girls basketball team pulled off a bit of a stunner in the first round of Division IV tournament play. The 10th-seeded Braves got past No. 6 Harrison Central 36-34 in a Feb. 19 District 1 sectional game, setting up a Feb. 25 district semifinal against No. 3 Philo, which defeated No. 14 Cambridge 64-34 in the first round. The winner will play a 1 p.m. Feb. 28 in the district final, with No. 2 Indian Creek the likeliest opponent.

Againts Harrison Central, Bayli McConnell led the Braves with 18 points. Halle Klaserner added 8.

Dover saw its season come to an end Feb. 21. The Tornadoes fell 49-31 to No. 1 seed Steubenville in an East/Southeast Division III Sectional final. Steubenville moved on to face Tri-Valley in a district semifinal Feb. 25. Ansley Bollon led Dover with 12 points.

New Philadelphia’s season ended even sooner, with the Quakers not having a first-round bye. New Philadelphia, seeded fourth, dropped its Feb. 18 postseason opener 44-32 to Tri-Valley, which went on to beat No. 2 Zanesville 52-36. Against Tri-Valley, freshman Khloe Sours had 6 points and seven rebounds.

Tusky Valley started Division V tournament play win a 62-22 win over Ridgewood Feb. 19, setting up a Feb. 25 East District 1 semifinal between No. 3 seeded TV and No. 11 Buckeye Local at Carrollton. Those teams were looking for a spot in the 1 p.m. Feb. 28 district final, perhaps against No. 2 Richmond Edison. Against Ridgewood, Elli Wallick scored 16 points and Aleah Wozniak added 13.

Sandy Valley, seeded sixth in East District 1, fell in its opener 54-45 to Barnesville. Barnesville moved on to face Edison in a Feb. 25 district semifinal. Sandy Valley finished 14-9.

Claymont saw a nice season come to an end with a 73-41 loss to No. 1 seed Belmont Union Local Feb. 19. The Mustangs got no favors from the luck of the draw in that one. Claymont finished 12-11.

In Division VI East Sectional play, Newcomerstown traveled to Shadyside for a sectional contest Feb. 18 but the No. 7 Trojans could not quote pull off the upset, falling 53-49 to the sixth-seeded host. Kim Miller led the Trojans with 15 points. It might not have been the worst outcome, though, considering Shadywide went on to fall 65-17 to Shenandoah three days later.

Strasburg-Franklin started what it hopes will be a long tournament run Feb. 18 with a 70-9 win at home over Bridgeport. The top-seeded Tigers kept that impressive start going three days later with a 76-13 win, also at home, over No. 8 Bishop Rosecrans. In the latter game, Sofia Secrest led the way with 26 points. Ally Miller scored 11 and Dede Herron scored 10. That set up a Feb. 25 district semifinal meeting at Claymont with No. 5 Steubenville Catholic Central. The winner will meet either No. 2 Caldwell or New Matamoras Frontier in the district title game Feb. 28 at 1 p.m. at a site to be determined.

Tuscarawas Central Catholic had a respectable showing in its tourney opener. The No. 9-seeded Saints fell 46-35 to No. 3 Hannibal River, which went on to fall to No. 4 Frontier 40-25 in the next round. Against Hannibal River, senior Nora Jackson led the Saints with 13 points. Senior Ellen Norris scored 7 and sophomore Melody Johnson had 7. TCC finished 4-19.