by Gregg Meadows
….Yes, girls’ basketball – and girls’ athletics – at Tri-Valley High School have come a long way since their humble beginnings in the fall of 1971. And to see just how far the journey has come, take a look on this page, to relive and appreciate the accomplishments of the impressive five TVHS girls’ basketball teams that have reached the holy grail of girls prep cage honors – the OHSAA Final Four!
1985 – TVHS Girls Basketball 1st Final Four appearance
Pictured above is the 1984-85 Lady Scottie Basketball team. Head Coach Mary Ann Grimes and her team compiled a solid 13-6 regular season record and were led by All-Ohioan Julie Hoag. The Lady Scotties caught fire in the post-season, defeating first East Liverpool (77-38), and New Philadelphia (47-43) for a Sectional title, downed Lancaster (51-42), and then Zanesville (50-29) for a district title, and all of a sudden, they were in the ‘Sweet Sixteen’, where they earned a pair of hard-earned victories over Youngstown Boardman (53-50), then Canton McKinley (38-36) to reach the school’s first girls hoops Final Four. After a 63-57 win over East Cleveland Shaw in the state semi-final game, the ‘Tri-Valley train’ was finally derailed, as the Lady Scotties dropped a heart-breaking 58-55 overtime nail-biter to Pickerington in the state championship game. To date, no other Tri-Valley girls’ basketball Final Four team has reached the state title game. Row 1: (l-r) Manager Lori Wortman, Clarrinda Cain, Lori Weaver, Crystal Wortman, Gigi Sarbaugh, Traci Hindel, Manager Valerie Thomas. Row 2: Coach Mary Ann Grimes, Lisa Reily, Amy Hutchison, Julie Hoag, Kelly Spaulding, Charlene Bell, Sharon Bauer, Shannon Murphy, Assistant Coach Brenda Hindel.
1990 – TVHS Girls Basketball 2nd Final Four appearance
Pictured above is the 1989-90 Lady Scottie Basketball team. Head Coach Mark Hartman and his team compiled a near perfect 19-1 regular season record for an MVL crown, and were led by leading scorers Leigh Ann Longaberger, Nancy Fry, and Lora Vandenbark. The Lady Scotties continued their roll in the post season, downing Claymont (60-49) and West Holmes (49-38) for a Sectional title, then Edison South (64-43) and Maysville (55-50) for a District crown. In ‘Sweet Sixteen’ action, Tri-Valley defeated rivals River View 67-48, then New Lexington (54-46) for a Regional trophy and the school’s second visit to the State Final Four. In the state semi-final game, the Lady Scotties fell to Elida 62-48 to finish 25-2 on the season. Row 1: (l-r) Manager Amy Ross, Lora Vandenbark, Shannon Holtz, Angie Myers, Diana Lee, Molly Madden. Back row: Assistant Coach Louie Chapman, Beth Jerig, Lisa Pollock, Leigh Ann Longaberger, Marcy Edwards, Julie Priest, Nancy Fry and Coach Mark Hartman.
1999 – TVHS Girls Basketball 3rd Final Four appearance
Pictured on the right is the 1998-99 Lady Scottie Basketball team. Head Coach Mark Wilson and his team compiled a 17-3 regular season record for an MVL crown, and then nipped rival River View 44-43 in the tourney opener thanks to a Tai Kirk free throw. More last-second heroics were needed in the Sectional title game, and junior Ashley Gallogly was up to the task, banking in a last-second short jumper to give the Lady Dawgs a 43-41 win over Meadowbrook. In the district title game vs. St. Clairsville. Leslie Goins’ 19 points paced TV to a come from behind 57-50 win for the trophy, then in Regional play, the Lady Dawgs routed Dover 45-26 and defeated powerhouse Warren Local 51-44 thanks to 20 points from Tai Kirk to send the Tri-Valley girls to the state Final Four for the third time in school history. The Lady Dawgs were defeated by Dayton Chaminade 43-30 in the state semi-final, and finished with an outstanding 22-4 record. Row 1: (l-r) Ty Kirk, Adrienne Shesky, Aimee Gibson, Leslie Goins. Back row: Coach Mark Wilson, Kelly Martin, Cara Rollison, Ashley Gallogly, Stacy Stotts, Allix Magaziner, Abbie Wilson.
2005 – TVHS Girls Basketball 4th Final Four appearance
Pictured above is the 2004-05 Lady Dawg Basketball team. Head Coach Marty Bice and his team compiled a near perfect 19-1 regular season record for an MVL crown (perfect in conference action), and were led by All-Ohioan Tricia Smith. The Lady Dawgs opened tourney play with a 62-38 win over John Glenn, then dispatched Meadowbrook 52-41, and Steubenville a game later 66-52 for a District title. A 46-37 win over Miami Trace in a Sweet Sixteen semi-final, set up a classic re-match with perennial state power River View in front of a packed house at ZHS, with the Lady Dawgs prevailing 58-42, punching their ticket to the school’s fourth state Final Four appearance. Tri-Valley fell 59-48 to Columbus Eastmoor in the state semi-final and finished the season with a sterling 24-2 record. Row 1: (l-r) Danae Lacy, Kellie Walters, Tayler Lewis, Kelsey Shumaker, Tricia Smith. Back row: Coach Marty Bice, Michelle Hogue, Kelly Todd, Kassie Wagner, Sammy Bice, Tara Harper, Coach Ben Kennedy.
2020 – TVHS Girls Basketball 5th Final Four appearance
Pictured above is the 2019-2020 Lady Dawg Basketball team on the floor they never got to play on at St. John Arena. The year 2020 will always be remembered as the ‘What If’ year for TVHS Lady Dawg basketball, whose 2019-20 championship hoops season and Final Four appearance in Columbus at OSU’s St John Arena on March 12 was cut short by the COVID-19 national pandemic and ensuing nation-wide shutdown – just minutes before they were to take the floor in their D-II state semi-final contest vs. Napoleon. The 2020 post season saw Tri-Valley earn a Sectional title with a 68-12 win over East Liverpool, then down Dover 64-42 in the district semi-final game. The Lady Dawgs defeated Maysville 44-41 for the district title and Sweet Sixteen spot. In two memorable Regional contests at Zanesville HS, Tri-Valley nipped powerhouse Sheridan 50-48, then knocked off No. 1 ranked Circleville 45-43 in overtime for the school’s fifth Regional title, punching their ticket to Columbus with a 26-3 record. Row 1: (l-r) Kiana Reynolds, Lexie Littick, Olivia Rapol, Audrey Spiker, Riley Tracy, Lauren King, Karsan Ross, Hannah King. Back row: Trainer Dave Peadon, Assistant Coach Logan Scott, Ashton Thomas, Ashley Dinan, Jacie West, Janie McLoughlin, Kyndal Howe, Anna Krupa, Tailor Dupler, Lexi Howe, Isabella Baughman, Head Coach Kurt Kaufman, Assistant Coach Buster Howe.
