By Jerry Wadian
Sports Editor
jwadian@thefayettecountyunion.com

The North Fayette Valley girls’ basketball team won a thriller Friday, Dec. 13, in Lansing, coming from behind in the final minutes to win, 54-52.

The next night, the gals dropped a 50-40 decision at home to Denver. Earlier in the week, the TigerHawks lost, 42-33, to Clayton Ridge in Guttenberg.

Friday’s game was a seesaw affair all night. Neither team could pull very far ahead of the other.

The TigerHawks did lead by five, 27-22, at the half, but Kee rallied to go into the final quarter leading, 39-37.

The final eight minutes went back and forth. Kee hit some big 3-pointers to keep it in the game, but NFV also hit some big shots.

Jade Daughton had a big steal, blocked shot, free throw and her only bucket of the night during the crucial final eight minutes.

However, as head coach Sean Leonard stated, “Anytime you win by two, you know it was the result of a total team effort.”

Kaitlin Dinan had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Rebecca Miller led the scoring with 16 points, while Shelby Lehmann led the effort on the glass with 14 rebounds.

NFV 11 16 10 17 54

Kee 12 10 17 13 52

Saturday, the TigerHawks looked very good early, trailing the visiting Little Cyclones, 24-23, at the half. However, the second half was all Denver.

Leonard stated later, “I was nervous going in as we were playing back-to-back nights for the first time. We have a young team, and we’re just not there yet physically to do that. We simply ran out of gas in the second half.”

Denver hit enough treys to force NFV out of its zone and into man-to-man.

“We just aren’t accustomed yet to doing that,” admitted Leonard. “It was a good experience for a young team and we’ll move on and get ready for this week at South Winn on Friday night.”

Regan Wolverton and Lehmann led the TigerHawks with 12 and 11   points, respectively; six of Wolverton’s points came from beyond the arc.

Denver 8 16 12 14 50

NFV 7 16 6 11 40

NFV (40)- Miller, 14; Wolverton, 12; Reierson, 2; Dinan, 2; Mackey, 2; Lehmann, 11. 3-pointers- Wolverton, 2; Rebounds- Miller, 4; Daughton, 1; Dinan, 12; Mackey, 1; Lehmann, 14. Assists- Miller, 3; Rounds, 2; Wolverton. Steals- Wolverton, 2; Lehmann, 2; Miller, Daughton, Reierson, Dinan. Blocks- Miller, Daughton.

Tuesday, NFV faced UIC preseason co-favorite Clayton Ridge.

The Eagles started strong with a 10-3 first-quarter lead. NFV rallied to only trail by five, 20-15, at the half. However, the Eagles’ size was too much in the second half.

Wolverton added a dozen points to her season’s total, while Lehmann pumped in 11 points.

NFV 3 12 9 9 33

CR 10 10 12 10 42