by Gregg Meadows
It’s been a busy – and up and down – last two weeks for Coach Kurt Kaufman’s Tri-Valley girls basketball team to include a loss to Sheridan in a big MVL showdown, the post season tournament draw, then a pair of wins on the road.
(The 2022-23 regular season ends with the Lady Dawgs game at Fairfield Union on Feb. 9 as the Dresden Buzz goes to print.)
On Sunday, Jan. 29, the OHSAA Central District post season tournament draw was held, with Tri-Valley earning the 12th seed in Division I. The Lady Dawgs – currently 16-4 overall and 13-2 in MVL play – will host Columbus Walnut Ridge at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18 in Dresden at The Dawg House in their tournament opener.
A Tri-Valley win will advance the Lady Dawgs to face either 15th seed Newark, 11th seed Hilliard Darby or 35th seed Logan in a district semifinal at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22 to be played at a neutral site. The district finals are set for Saturday, Feb. 25.
Most recently, the Lady Dawgs picked up a couple of MVL Small School division wins last week on the road – first a 77-31 win at Coshocton on Feb. 1, then a 67-40 victory on Saturday, Feb. 4 at Crooksville.
In the Coshocton win, TV jumped out in front 18-10 at the first break and never looked back thanks to a game-high 28 points from Lexi Howe, 15 counters from sophomore Mackenzie Harvey, 14 points from junior PD Moore, and eight from freshman Maddie Garber. Isabelle Lauvray’s 19 points led Coshocton. Tri-Valley took the JV game as well – 52-20 – and were led by Annika Collett’s 17 points, 10 from Maddie Garber and nine from Gwyn Dal Ponte. Haylie Gates led CHS with eight points.
In the Crooksville road victory, Howe again led the winners with 20 points followed by PD Moore with 16 counters, and Addison Wilson and Mackenzie Harvey each with nine. Kenzie Printz led Crooksville with 11 points. Coach Logan Scott’s TV JV’s took a 48-14 win back to Dresden with them with Annika Collett and Ella Knowlton leading the way with nine points each, followed eight from Addison Wilson and seven from Audrey Wickerham. The TV JVs also played at Granville on Feb. 3 as the host Blue Aces reserve squad defeated TV 40-36 despite 13 points apiece from Annika Collett and Ella Knowlton.
After defeating Sheridan 55-45 in Dresden back in December in ‘Round One’ play of Muskingum Valley League Big School action, Coach Kurt Kaufman’s Tri-Valley girls basketball team knew that the Lady Generals would be ready for the Lady Dawgs in ‘Round Two’.
And true to form, they were, as defending MVL champs and 2022 Final Four participant Sheridan led at every break on Saturday, Jan. 28 on their home floor to defeat the Lady Dawgs by a 47-38 count.
The host Lady Generals led 12-7 at the first break, then 22-18 at halftime, despite a trio of second stanza treys from Tri-Valley sophomore Mackenzie Harvey.
The Lady Dawgs charged back in third period, thanks to a 7-0 run seven sparked by a Maddie Garber counter and five straight points from senior All-Ohioan Lexi Howe that gave Tri-Valley a 25-22 lead at the five-minute mark of third quarter.
But a pair of three-point bombs from Sheridan’s standout All-Ohioan Jamisyn Stinson gave the home team the lead for good at 28-25, despite a stick-back counter from Addison Wilson ahead of the third quarter buzzer that saw the visitors down just 30-29 heading into the fourth quarter. The host Lady Generals outscored Tri-Valley 17-9 in the decisive fourth frame to secure the win.
Lexi Howe led the Lady Dawgs with 16 points, followed by Mackenzie Harvey’s 13 counters. Stinson’s game-high 17 led the winners, who also got 10 from Nora Saffell. Tri-Valley was nipped by Sheridan 34-33 in the junior varsity game despite a game-high 17 points from Lady Dawg freshman guard Ella Knowlton.