by Gregg Meadows
Coach Kurt Kaufman’s Tri-Valley girls basketball team beat the odds a few times during the regular season, but couldn’t find the magic one more time back on Saturday evening, Feb. 25 at Ohio Dominican College, as the 12th seeded Lady Dawgs fell to top-seed Pickerington Central 63-30 in the D-I district final.
Coming off a hard-fought 49-41 win over the Newark Lady Wildcats in the district semi-final, the Lady Dawgs stayed close to the talented Lady Tigers, trailing just 12-10 at the first break, but were outscored 14-6 in the second stanza, then 37-14 in the second half to bow out of tournament action and finish the season with a 19-6 record.
Tri-Valley senior All-Ohioan Lexi Howe finished her career as a Lady Dawg hoopster in a customary way – leading her team with 11 points, with sophomore Mackenzie Harvey adding eight points. The victorious Lady Tigers – who were led by Berry Wallace’s 23 points in the TV win – improved to 22-4 on their season and advance on the tournament trail with the District title, and will play Dublin Coffman (20-5) in the Regional semi-final.
Congratulations to the 2022-23 TVHS Lady Dawg basketball team on another outstanding season!