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Monday, Feb. 13 – Led by balanced scoring, the Parry McCluer High School girls basketball team defeated Eastern Montgomery 41-33 to win the Pioneer District regular-season title on Monday night at James River High School in Buchanan.
The Fighting Blues (19-2 overall, 7-1 district) will enter the district tournament as the top seed and will play host to fourth-seeded Covington in the semifinals on Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
Monday was the third meeting of the season between the Blues and EM (19-4, 7-1), who had split the regular-season series, with the Mustangs routing shorthanded PM 55-30 on Jan. 6 at EM and the Blues earning a 41-36 comeback victory at home on Jan. 31.
Leading the Blues with 10 points each were Anna Claytor, Payton Emore and Victoria Hamilton, while Tatyana Turner scored five points, and Addisen Roberts chipped in four.
Lilly Underwood paced the Mustangs with 18 points, but the Blues held Maddie Bruce to eight points.
The first-place game was close the whole way, with the Blues taking an 11-9 lead after the first quarter. PM stayed ahead for most of the second quarter until Underwood hit a 3-pointer to give EM a 21-20 lead with about two minutes left, and the Mustangs took a 26-22 lead into halftime.
PM went on a 6-0 run to start the third quarter, getting a basket each from Emore and Hamilton. The Mustangs tied the game at 29-29, but the Blues scored the next five points to take a 34-29 lead into the fourth quarter.
EM cut the lead to 34-33 early in the fourth quarter, but the Blues stepped up defensively and ended the game on an 8-0 run, converting from the free throw line in the closing minutes.
For full coverage of this game and the Blues’ road wins last week, please see our Feb. 15 newspaper. Check back here for district tournament updates, and see our Feb. 22 newspaper for the full story and photos.
