Eagles turn back Overton at the buzzer

SOUTHERN VALLEY - While they never grabbed a comfortable lead, the Southern Valley girls basketball team led almost throughout their home contest with visiting Overton Saturday.

But with three seconds left, Overton had the ball down one. On a sideline out of bounds play, the Eagles inbounded to a wide-open player on the block, who looked to toss in the gamewinning layup.

But Southern Valley’s Ann Bose streaked across the lane, snatched the shot right off the shooter’s hand, raced down the floor and expired the clock to secure a 41-40 win. The victory pushed South

The victory pushed Southern Valley over .500 to 3-2 this season.

The host Eagles struggled from the field, shooting 26 percent, but made hay at the free throw line, knocking down 16 of 24 attempts. The visiting Eagles were the opposite, shooting 43 percent from the floor, but a woeful eight of 25 at the charity stripe.

Bose poured in 25 points for Southern Valley and was a perfect 10-for-10 at the line.

Southern Valley grabbed a 13-10 lead after a quarter and led 22-19 at the half. The advantage was one, 28-27, heading to the fourth.

The Eagles took their biggest lead of seven early in the fourth, but Overton wouldn’t roll over, surging back to gain possession with a chance to win in the final seconds.

Brecklyn Hammond, Bregan Hammond and Krista Best each scored four for Southern Valley. Brynn Baily had three assists, Bose grabbed seven boards and five steals and Brecklyn Hammond had four steals.

The Eagles have a challenging end to the week, hosting 4-1 Ravenna Thursday before traveling to 4-1 Superior Friday.

They return home for a meeting with Hitchcock County Monday and visit Southwest on Tuesday.