GRAHAMSVILLE – Tri-Valley and Sullivan West have both punched their tickets to Sectionals, albeit through different routes. Sullivan West dominated in division play as well as their overall record, going 3-1 in the division. Tri-Valley, on the other hand, went 1-3 in the division but earned a trip to the playoffs via their overall record. The two teams squared off on Thursday evening to close out their regular season, and what seemed like it was going to be a Sullivan West blowout after the first half turned into an 8-point victory.

The Bears closed the gap in the second half but were unable to overcome the 17-point halftime deficit for a 45-37 Sullivan West victory.

Tri-Valley opened the game with a 4-1 lead, and Sullivan West seemed off-balance early, but a quick timeout by coach Pat Donovan righted the ship and the Lady Bulldogs ended the quarter on a 13-0 run to take a 14-4 lead after the first quarter.

In the second, Tri-Valley still didn’t have an answer for Sullivan West’s size advantage and offensive proficiency, and the Lady Bulldogs extended their lead to 17 via an 11-4 quarter.

The Lady Bears made some necessary adjustments to their offense in the second half, winning the third quarter 17-14 and the fourth 12-6. One of the big changes was that both Jenna Carmody, who had 14 second half points, and Emily Rusin, who added eight in the fourth quarter, found their stride offensively.

Sullivan West had built a big enough lead to stave off the Tri-Valley run, but there is a chance that these two teams can meet again in Sectionals.