GRAHAMSVILLE, NY — Despite the home-team crowd cheering on every play by the Lady Bears of Tri-Valley, there were audible groans of dismay when a seemingly endless series of surefire three-pointers and what looked like easy buckets narrowly missed their targets or rolled around the rim without sinking through the net.

It was almost as if the ball and rim were set to opposite polarities, fiendishly designed to foil the home team during the sectional semi varsity girls’ game of hoops on February 26 at the Home of the Bears.

Going into the sectional matchup, the Lady Bears, coached by Jason Closs, were riding high. They had a record of 10-1, while the Lady Bombers of Pine Plains, helmed by Les Funk, entered the fray at 12-6.

The Lady Bombers made a “huge improvement” over last season. Coach Funk noted that at the close of the 2022-23 season of buckets, they only posted a solo win, while in 2016 they made it to the state finals.

In the first frame, Pine Plains outpaced the home team 14-10; the second period was even-up at 9-9. Tri-Valley rallied momentarily in the third to outscore the Lady Bombers 13-11. And in the final frame, Pine Plains dominated the hardwood to outgun the Lady Bears 15-8 on the way to a hard-fought 49-40 win.

Leading scorers for Pine Plains: 

Tessa Blackburn (16 points, including 2 three-pointers); Nevaeh Rennie (15); Elizabeth Hieter (8); and Emma Brenner (6)

Tri-Valley’s top bucketeers: 

Jenna Carmody (10 points, including 2 three-pointers); Emily Rusin (8); Jordan Dymond (8, including a three-pointer); and Allyson Chevalier (7, including a three-pointer)

Stats from the free throw line: 

T-V 6/18 (33 percent), PP 11/19 (58 percent)