Bill Lusk | WVOW Sports
NAUGATUCK The Man Lady Hillbillies got off to a quick start, however things quickly fell apart in the middle quarters as Tug Valley defeated its sectional rival 60-21 Monday night at Tug Valley High School.
Man led Tug Valley 10-5 in the first quarter before the Lady Panthers scored eight unanswered points to surge ahead 13-10 after one quarter of play.
Man struggled to score in the second and third quarters as Tug Valley held the Lady Hillbillies to one made field goal, a 3-pointer from Jace Baisden in the second and third quarter, outscoring them 36-6.
Man, who had a 10-point opening quarter, was held to just 11 points over the final three quarters of play and had just two players crack the scoring column in the loss.
Jenna Baisden led the way with 15 points and Jace Baisden had six points for the Lady Hillbillies, who were playing without three starters in Monday’s defeat.
Haven Deskins led three Lady Panthers in double figures with 24 points while Bailee Hall and Katelynn Richardson finished with 12 points each.
Maria Pilkins finished with five points, Brooke Spaulding had four, Riley Porter two and Zoey Hensley one to round out the scoring for Tug Valley, who snapped a seven-game losing streak to improve to 4-13 on the season.
The Lady Panthers are back in action Tuesday night as they travel to sectional rival Tolsia. The Lady Rebels got the best of the Lady Panthers on January 9, defeating them 46-45, and a win Tuesday would all but assure the Lady Rebels the top seed in the upcoming Class A Region 4 Sectional 1 tournament.
Man has lost five straight, falling to 1-10 on the year, and will return to action Thursday night against Sherman. The Lady Hillbillies defeated the Lady Tide 47-46 on January 11 in coach Garrin Blankenship’s debut.
Blankenship was named coach of the Lady Hillbillies by the Logan County Board of Education on January 9, and less than 48 hours later he guided them to their first and only win of the season at Sherman.