One season ended on a down note. But the second one is around the corner.
The West Liberty-Salem girls completed the regular season slate Monday with a 36-30 loss to visiting Anna in nonleague play.
The Lady Tigers finish at 15-7. They were 11-5 in Ohio Heritage Conference action, tied with West Jefferson for first place in the North Division.
Anna built up a lead in the first period, but WL-S turned the tables in the second and drew even by the time intermission arrived.
The third quarter was a see-saw, with first the Tigers, then the Rockets having the advantage. Anna then used good free throw shooting in the fourth to secure the win.
Ava Astorino had 10 points for West Liberty-Salem. Maddie McGill got six and Ava Poppe had five.
Anna also ends the season at 15-7. They were led in scoring by Adyson Bales with 12 points and Makenzie Mumaw with eight.
“I was real impressed with the way we came back after falling down there early,” said Tigers coach Dennis McIntosh.
“They battled back and made it game. I wasn’t sure how we were going to react because we weren’t handling the ball well; we weren’t shooting well; and everything was going against us there. So it was good to see them fight back.”
He added that the Tigers used a lot of zone defense. “We haven’t done that all year, so it was good to see that we’re able to do that if we need it down the road.”
McIntosh reaches milestone
Coach McIntosh also recently achieved his 500th career victory. He was recognized for the achievement prior to the boys’ game with Anna last week.
“It’s been fun. I’ve had great kids playing for me,” he said. “And when I first took the job, I had no idea I’d be here for 31 years doing it. But it’s fun and it’s a great community to raise kids in, and they support the schools here.”
He added that “we’re just going one year at a time and see how things go. So as long as it keeps being fun, I think we’ll be around some more years.”
The Lady Rockets got the game’s first score from Bales after about a minute and a half of action. Ava Poppe’s score tied it 50 seconds later.
While West Liberty-Salem would not score again until late in the frame, Anna got a jumper and free throw by Bales, then a three-pointer from Mumaw spread out over the next few minutes.
A couple of free throws by Mumaw put Anna up by eight. Ava Johnson hit with 1:15 to go to break the Tigers’ drought. Anna would get one more point at the free throw line to lead 11-4.
Liz Staudter drained a long-distance shot early in the second period to push that to double digits.
After a couple more minutes, West Liberty-Salem slowly started chipping away. They got a pair of free throws by Astorino, the Addie Wallen drove the lane for a score. Astorino then twice connected from beyond the arc bringing it all even at 14.
The Tigers resumed that momentum in the third. After a free throw, Poppe scored off an assist by Ava Johnson. McGill got one to fall, then Johnson hit a three from the corner to put them up 22-14 with two minutes gone by.
Anna would control the remainder of the period offensively. After a layup by Makenna Pettus, they got a couple of free throws.
After a McGill basket for the Tigers, Anna would get a free throw, then baskets by Tori Osborn, Bales and Mumaw in the final 2 1/2 minutes to edge in front 26-24.
West Liberty-Salem got a couple of free throws, but couldn’t connect on anything from the field early in the fourth.
Bales scored on a layup with 3:36 to go. With two minutes left, the Tigers’ bench was given a technical foul. Pettus made one of the two shots, but more importantly, Anna retained possession allowing them to drain time off the clock.
West Liberty-Salem kept matters close, but was forced to foul.
With 37 seconds left, Pettus made one of two to make it 33-28.
Astorino was able to score with 14 seconds left. But Anna was able to get the ball in, and two more trips to the line got them three points to salt the win away.
Anna won the junior varsity contest 44-35. Arianna Weaver had nine points for WL-S.
West Liberty-Salem will face Fairlawn in the Division VI playoffs. The game is Saturday at Covington and begins at about 3:30 p.m. It is the second game of a doubleheader, with the first being Triad and Fort Recovery at 2.