Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

PT. PLEASANT, W.Va. — There are times when the Symmes Valley Lady Vikings must think there is a manhole cover on the basket.
Saturday was one of those times.
The Lady Vikings struggled with their shooting — especially at the foul line — as they lost a 51-49 heartbreaker to the Pt. Pleasant Lady Knights.
“It was a tough loss. We played pretty well but we didn’t shoot well,” said Lady Vikings’ coach Shannon Pierce.
“We shot 36 percent from the field and 38 percent from the foul line. It’s tough to win a game when you shoot like that.”
The Lady Vikings (5-12) were just 18-of-49 from the floor and only 10-of-26 at the foul line.
The game had 49 fouls called and Pt. Pleasant was only 14-of-37 from the line as the two teams combined to shoot 63 free throws.
The loss overshadowed a stellar all-around performance by the Lady Vikings Hailee Littlejohn who had a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds. She also had a blocked shot.
Payton Hunter had a nice all-around performance with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals. Taylor Sells had 7 rebounds and Jenna Malone 6.
Morgan Miller scored 19 points and Brooke Warner 17 for the Lady Knights.
Pt. Pleasant led 8-7 after the first quarter as Littlejohn got 4 points for the Lady Vikings.
Miller hit a pair of 3-pointer in the second quarter to help offset a combined 7 points by Littlejohn and Malone and it was 20-18 at the half.
Hunter hit a 3-pointer and scored 5 points and Littlejohn had 4 as Symmes Valley rallied to take a 30-25 lead.
But Warner scored 7 points and Miller had a 3-pointer and scored 5 points in the fourth quarter as Pt. Pleasant rallied to tie the game and force the overtime.
In overtime, Pt. Pleasant had 11 points including 7-of-13 coming from the foul line. Miller was 3-for-4 at the line and Warner had the only two field goals.
The Lady Vikings were 5-of-10 at the line in overtime.
Symmes Valley host Fairview, Ky., on Monday.
Sym. Valley 7 11 12 10 9 = 49
Pt. Pleasant 8 12 5 15 11 = 51
SYMMES VALLEY (5-13): Jenna Malone 4 0 0-1 8, Payton Hunter 2 1 1-3 8, Meredith Humphreys 0 0 0-0 0, Taylor Sells 0 1 1-4 4, Rachael Hayes 0 0 2-4 2, Kaylee Cade 0 0 0-0 0, Lauren Wells 0 0 0-0 0, Hailee Gordon 0 0 0-0 0, Kaylee Thompson 0 1 3-6 6, Hailee Littlejohn 7 0 3-6 17, Spring Ross 2 0 0-2 4. Totals: 18-49 10-26 49. 3-pt goals: 3-13. Rebounds: 17-O, 20-D = 37 (Littlejohn 10, Hunter 8, Sells 7, Malone 6, Ross 5). Assists: 8 (Hunter 2). Steals: 9 (Malone 2, Hunter 2, Sells 2). Turnovers: 14. Blocks: 1 (Littlejohn). Fouls: 26. Fouled out: None.
PT. PLEASANT (2-12): Morgan Miller 3 3 4-9 19, Brooke Warner 7 0 3-11 17, Tristan Wilson 2 0 1-4 5, Baylie Rickard 1 0 2-2 4, Madison Thomas 0 0 0-0 0, Katelynn Smith 0 0 1-2 1, Patience Burke 0 0 0-0 0, Tayah Fetty 0 0 1-4 1, Kacey Walker 0 0 0-0 0, Lena Zellinger 0 0 2-4 2. Totals: 14 3 14-37 51. Fouls: 23. Fouled out: T. Wilson, Fetty.