West tops Valley in season finale
Feb. 26—LUCASVILLE — The Portsmouth West Lady Senators raced out to a 20-2 lead after the first quarter, and coasted their way to a 30-point win over the Valley Lady Indians — in girls Southern Ohio Conference Division II makeup play on Thursday.
With the 61-31 win, the Lady Senators — whose postseason run ended in their Division III sectional final loss to Wheelersburg — officially clinched a second-place finish in the 2020-21 SOC II race.
By most metrics, it was a historic season for the Lady Senators, whose runner-up finish in this year's league race was the first time they've accomplished such in at least three decades, West second-year head coach Megan Artrip confirmed.
West was led in scoring by Lexi Deaver, who scored a game-high 17 points in the win, followed by Emma Sayre and Charlie Jo Howard's respective 10-point performances.
Junior Eden Cline scored each of her eight points during the first half of the game, while Maelynn Howell and Elisa Andre each scored six.
Valley sophomore Savannah Easter led the Lady Indians with a team-high 10 points, eight of which came in the second quarter.
West (15-7) will graduate a lone senior, Mackenzie Boggs, from its 2020-21 roster — while the Indians will say farewell to seniors Natalie Buckle and Caitlin Kennard after their season finale.
