By JIM WALKER

Tribune Sports Editor

WILLOW WOOD — What a way to start the season.

The Symmes Valley Lady Vikings opened their season and Southern Ohio Conference play with a thrilling 46-45 win over the Portsmouth Notre Dame Lady Titans Monday.

“It feels good to win the first one right out of the gate. This was a game that could have gone either way,” said Lady Vikings’ coach Lisa Bryant.

Kayla Hayes had 19 ponts, 5 rebounds and 4 assists for the Lady Vikings. Kalli Hunt added 9 points and 6 rebounds while Jessie Morris got 8 points, 5 assists and 4 steals.

Erin Monroe scored 13 points and Jen Arnzen had 11 points to lead the Titans.

“We did a nice job on Arnzen by denying her the ball which is no easy task. She is a nice player who has improved a lot from last year,” said Bryant.

Hunt, a freshman, hit two foul shots with 10 seconds to play to give Symmes Valley the 46-45 lead. Notre Dame had two chances to score, but Hayes tied the ball up inside as time ran out.

Hayes scored 5 pointsin the first quarter and it was 9-9.

Morris scored 5 points in the second quarter but Monroe had 6 for the Lady Titans to take a 23-22 lead.

Hayes hit a 3-pointer and scored 5 points in the third quarter as the Lady Vikings tied the game 31-31.

Hunt had 7 of her points in the fourth quarter as the Lady Vikings trailed by one. Hunt was fouled under the basket and hit the winning shots.

“The fourth quarter was the difference in the game. We applied pressure full court with our guards and created turnovers,” said Bryant.

Notre Dame 9 14 8 14 = 45

Symmes Valley 9 13 9 15 = 46

PORTSMOUTH NOTRE DAME (0-1, 0-1): Kayser 1 0 3-6 5, Sammons 3 0 3-4 9, Welsh 0 0 0-0 0, Arnzen 3 0 5-8 11, Monroe 5 0 3-4 13, Martin 2 0 1-1 5, Morgan 0 0 0-0 0, Stevenson 0 0 0-2 0, Ramey 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 15 0 15-25 45. Fouls: 19. Fouled out: Welsh, Monroe.

SYMMES VALLEY (1-0, 1-0): Malenna Davis 1 1 0-0 5, Hannah Maynard 0 0 0-0 0, Jessie Morris 3 0 2-4 8, Kayla Hayes 5 1 6-12 19, Kalli Hunt 2 0 5-6 9, Megan Johnson 1 0 0-0 2, Taylor Michael 1 0 1-2 3, Ada Humphrey 0 0 0-2 0. Totals: 15-50 (2_ 14-26 46. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: Morris. Rebounds: 24 (Hunt 6, Hayes 5). Assists: 13 (Morris 5, Hayes 4). Steals: 9 (Hayes 5, Morris 4). Turnovers: 12.