The Shadow
LOW MOOR – Needing an extra few minutes Tuesday evening, Alleghany picked up a big Three Rivers District victory over James River 62-54 in overtime.
It was a tale of two halves for the two juggernauts in the district.
The Cougars controlled the tempo of the first half and following a close first quarter that was separated by only two points, AHS outscored the Knights by nine seven points to build a 35-26 halftime lead.
The second half was all James River.
Down nine points entering the third quarter the Knights chipped away at the deficit and trimmed the Cougars lead to six points heading into the fourth quarter.
In the fourth Alleghany’s offense went cold.
With six minutes remaining the Cougars led 48-41 and then went scoreless for almost five minutes.
During Alleghany’s cold run, James River worked their way back into the game and cut the lead to one point with less than four minutes remaining.
Ava Lewis then connected on Alleghany’s biggest basket of the fourth quarter with a sidelines jumper as the Cougars went up 50-47 with two minutes left.
Not letting their comeback come up short, Gillian Smith drained a game-tying 3-pointer with just over a minute remaining.
After both teams missed opportunities to claim the lead, with time running out on regulation, Jalen Thompson had an open look at the basket but missed a mid-range jumper with six seconds left.
Pushing the ball down the court Bryce Leitch got the shot off just before time ran out, but came up short as the game was forced into overtime.
In overtime Alleghany reverted back to how they played during the first half and held James River to only four points, while Leitch alone outscored the Knights at the foul line in OT as she went 6-for-8.
Leitch led all scorers with a game-high 35 points, including seven 3-pointers. Meanwhile Kelsey Nicely had an extraordinary game with a double-double 12-points and a staggering game-high 15 rebounds.
Caitlin Canada led James River in scoring with 26 and also recorded a double-double with a team-high 18 rebounds, while Smith had 13.
Alleghany’s Ty’Aieja Smith, who scored five early first quarter points for the Cougars was ejected in the closing seconds of the first along with Ella Hutchens from James River following an altercation.
The win had put Alleghany in sole possession of the district, while James River saw their eight-game win streak come to an end.
James River 14 12 13 11 4 – 54
Alleghany 16 19 10 5 12 – 62
Individual Scoring
James River: Canada 26, Smith 13, Lynch 6, Thompson 4, Crawford 3, Benson 2. Total 26.
Alleghany: Leitch 35, Nicely 12, Heighter 5, Lewis 5, Smith 5. Total 62.
3-Pointers: James River 5 (Smith 3, Canada 2). Alleghany 9 (Leitch 7, Heighter 1, Lewis 1).
