GRAHAMSVILLE — The Tri-Valley Lady Bears put together a strong regular season with 13 wins to just five losses. Despite earning a No. 2 seed and hosting Pine Plains in the opening round of the Section IX Class C tournament, it wasn’t meant to be as the Bombers gritted out a 49-40 victory.

Despite the 9-point disparity at the final buzzer, the game was close until the final minute of the game. Tri-Valley held their only lead early in the first, up 4-3, but stuck within five points for the remainder of the game until fouling was necessary to extend the game.

The Bombers threatened to go on a run late in the first quarter, putting up six straight points to lead 14-7 before Tri-Valley hit a late 3-pointer to cut the lead to four at the break.

Pine Plains opened the second quarter with a bucket before Tri-Valley netted five straight points to get back within one. After the Bombers converted a shot from range to go up by four, the Bears responded with back-to-back layups to tie it at 19. The Bombers answered with two buckets of their own to take a 23-19 lead into the half.

In the third quarter, Tri-Valley was unable to tie the game again, but they hung around and answered each bucket by Pine Plains, and getting another late 3-pointer to go at the end of the quarter to cut the Bombers’ lead to 34-32 as the teams barreled into the final frame.

The offensive onslaught continued, with Tri-Valley staying within striking distance throughout the quarter, and even tying it at 40 apiece with time winding down.

After tying the game, however, the Bears shooters went cold, and Pine Plains was able to convert a layup and three foul shots as the Bears attempted to come back. When their attempts failed, the Lady Bears were forced to continue fouling and Pine Plains extended their lead to nine to earn the road win.

The Bombers ran into a brick wall, however, as they moved on to face Millbrook in the Class C Championship, losing 63-54.

“The girls played hard,” Tri-Valley Coach Jason Closs said. “We were hanging around for most of the game and tied it at 40. Then they made a bucket and we got called for an offensive foul. It was one of those games where a couple things made the difference, if the ball would have bounced our way a few more times the score could’ve been the opposite.”

When discussing the season in its entirety Closs said, “I’m proud of the team on their progress. We had some great seniors, Emily Rusin, Riley Kelly and Delanie Hoffman, but we’re returning 12 next year and despite the tough loss tonight, we’ll be back.”