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Friday, Feb. 17 -- Top-seeded Parry McCluer High School defeated second-seeded Eastern Montgomery 55-51 in a double-overtime classic to claim the Pioneer District girls basketball title in Buena Vista.
Anna Claytor totaled 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Fighting Blues (21-2) to their second win over the Mustangs (20-5) in five days. PM had defeated EM 41-33 on a neutral court at James River High School on Monday to claim the No. 1 seed in the district tournament after the teams split their regular-season series.
Maddie Bruce scored a game-high 24 points for the Mustangs in Friday's championship, and Lilly Underwood added 14. Victoria Hamilton chipped in 12 points for PM.
Despite needing two extra sessions to secure the victory, PM never trailed in the game. The Blues built up a 31-21 advantage late in the third quarter, only to see EM close the frame on a 10-0 run and pull even on Jenna Gadd's fastbreak bucket with 16 seconds left.
A pair of Addisen Roberts free throws put the Blues up 39-35 with just over a minute left in regulation. But Underwood hit a jumper with 48 seconds to go, and she tied the game at 39-39 on a layup after following up her own missed jump shot with just two seconds left.
PM scored the first six points of the first OT and led 45-39 with 35 seconds to play. The Mustangs trimmed the margin to 45-43 on a runner from Logan Boone and a Bruce drive; after Roberts made 1-of-2 foul shots, Bruce drained a 3-pointer with four seconds left to knot things up at 46-46.
PM immediately turned the ball over, giving EM a chance to win the game in the closing seconds, but Abi Felty's short jumper clanged off the back iron as time expired.
The contest was deadlocked again at 48-48 well into the second extra frame, but two Natalie Mohler foul shots put PM ahead for good at 50-48 with 1:33 remaining. That foul was the fifth on Bruce, and she joined Underwood and Boone on the EM bench after those two Mustangs had fouled out in the first overtime.
Claytor scored a layup at the 1:03 mark to make it 52-48. Gadd's triple cut the margin down to one (52-51) with 35 seconds to play. But Mohler drained two more key free throws with 14.5 seconds left, and Payton Emore iced the win by going 1-of-2 at the line with just 1.2 seconds to go.
Tatyana Turner recorded eight points for the Blues. Emore finished with seven points and five rebounds, and Roberts totaled five boards and a game-high five assists. Boone scored eight points for the Mustangs, and Gadd added five markers.
PM also overcame a woeful 21-of-37 performance at the foul line -- including a 12-of-23 combined mark in the two overtimes -- and 24 turnovers to repeat as Pioneer District champions.
The Blues will play host to a Region 1C quarterfinal game on Tuesday, with opponent and time to be determined.
