Inspired Sheridan shuts down Tri-Valley
THORNVILLE — Halle Warner was a defensive standout during Saturday's first half.
The Sheridan junior held Tri-Valley senior Lexi Howe to four points, allowing the Generals to take a four-point lead into halftime.
Warner left the floor midway through the third with an injury, leading to an inspired second half by her teammates.
Jamisyn Stinson hit the go-ahead 3 two plays after Warner's injury, and Sheridan limited the Scotties to four points during a 10-minute stretch in a 47-38 victory at Glen Hursey Gymnasium.
The Generals took over first place in the Muskingum Valley League Big School Division, moving to 12-1 in the league and 17-2 overall, while Tri-Valley dropped to 12-2 in the MVL and 15-4 overall.
Stinson, who scored 13 of her team-high 17 points in the second half, discussed Warner's importance to the team, and said they didn't want to let her down.
"We picked up our intensity. We wanted to win this one for her," Stinson said. "We didn't want to give them anything easy. We kept up our intensity and made it hard on them to get anything going (offensively). We finished it off."
Tri-Valley opened the third strong, using a 7-0 run to turn the 22-18 halftime deficit into a 25-22 lead. Maddie Garber scored on the opening possession of the second half before Howe made two free throws and a 3 to put the Scotties ahead at the 5-minute mark.
Warner made a key contribution on offense before leaving the game. She found Stinson out of a timeout for her first 3 of the game, tying it at 25. On the next offensive possession, Warner was injured, but Stinson stepped up a couple possession later, hitting another 3 off a Nora Saffell assist to put the Generals up 28-25 with three minutes left in the third.
Stinson connected with Kaelyn Moss, who finished with eight points and five rebounds, a minute later to push the lead to 30-25, but Tri-Valley ended a six-possession scoreless streak with a pair of Howe free throws with 30 seconds left in the third. After a Sheridan turnover, Howe missed a sideline floater, but Addison Wilson grabbed the rebound and stuck it back before the horn to make it 30-29 Sheridan.
The Sheridan defense forced three straight Scottie turnovers to open the fourth, while Stinson turned a steal into a hoop after scoring on a putback.
Saffell followed with a pair of free throws and Ava Heller, who scored all six of her points in the fourth, hit a foul-line jumper to extend the lead to 36-29 midway through the fourth.
Howe ended the Tri-Valley drought with a steal and layup, and after a pair of Payton Powell free throws, PD Moore drove for a hoop to get the Scotties within 38-33 at the 3:10 mark.
They never got closer, as Stinson and Heller combined to make 9 of 10 free throws to seal it.
Sheridan coach J.D. Walters spread the praise around, especially after Warner's exit. He credited Moss for stepping up with a career day, while Powell and Heller were among others with key contributions down the stretch.
"Halle is a big part of our team. She guards the opponent's best player, and did a great job on Lexi in the first half," Walters said. "We had a lot of different girls step up and make big plays. Payton broke the press late and had a key steal, Ava made that jumper, and Kaelyn came in and gave us some big minutes. It was a team effort."
Despite a quick start to the third, Tri-Valley struggled to find its offense for much of the second half. Coach Kurt Kaufman credited the Generals, while noting his team can improve from the experience.
"Sheridan did a good job taking away any offensive rhythm. They hurt us inside and on the boards defensively," he said. "We must regroup and continue to improve as a team."
Sheridan had six different players score in the first quarter to build a 12-7 lead after one, and the Generals went to Saffell in the second. She collected six of her 10 points in the stanza and Moss had back-to-back baskets to extend the lead to 22-12.
Mackenzie Harvey hit three triples in the second, including back-to-back possessions late, to bring the Scotties within four at the break.
"Nora had a great first half. They changed their defense (in the second), and it took us some time to adjust," Walters said. "We competed on the boards well and were able to get out in transition, which is key against Tri-Valley since they play good half-court defense."
Saffell noted the focus was to get inside in the first half since Tri-Valley was playing without its main post players.
"We knew if we got it in close, we could shoot over them. We took advantage of their lack of size in the first half," she said.
Sheridan has a quick turnaround with John Glenn on Monday. The Generals know they must refocus if they want to win the division outright.
"We're going to have to practice and prepare without Halle We know what it's going to take, and we'll be ready," Saffell said.
Howe finished with 16 points and Harvey chipped in 13 for Tri-Valley, which was held to 14-of-38 shooting and had 13 turnovers.
bhannahs@gannett.com; @brandonhannahs
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Inspired Sheridan shuts down Tri-Valley
