Lady Lions hold off Barr-Reeve, 34-30

Dec. 14—MONTGOMERY — Thursday's Lady Lion-Lady Vikings match-up proved to be just as exciting as every other battle between two historic rivals separated by just seven miles.

The game would end up in the win column for Loogootee, 34-30, in a contest that came down to foul shooting in the final seconds.

Senior Emily Hawkins led all scoring with 16 points for the Lions, while Alaina Diamond, Madison Waggoner and Ava Jeffers had five each, with Kaylee Hawkins adding the Lions only trey of the game.

Olivia Emmons led the Vikes (5-6) with three treys for nine points, while Hannah Bledsoe and Willow Thompson split 12 in the loss.

"I thought we got off to a good start and had good energy. We had to play smart late in the game, and we did that. We played eight girls tonight and got a good effort from all eight," said LHS coach Brian Smith, as the Lions moved to 4-5.

"I'm especially happy for our senior Emily Hawkins who led us on her birthday and signs to play in college tomorrow."

Emmons opened the game with triple to give B-R the early lead, but a pair of steals led to points from Emily Hawkins and Jeffers, while 6-2" Diamond pushed Loogootee's lead to 8-5. A jumper from Ava Carter pulled B-R within one at 7-8, Emmons tied the game at 10-all, but Loogootee's Hawkins scored the final five points of the quarter in the last :30 to give LHS a 15-11 lead.

B-R's Thompson and Hawkins traded baskets to open the second quarter. Hannah Bledsoe and Elle Knepp brought B-R back to within one, but Hawkins picked up a traditional 3-point play to add a little distance and make t 21-17. Jeffers added a back-door bucket and Loogootee was able to go into the break, with a 23-19 lead.

Hawkins had the only basket for the first 3:00 of the third, while the scoring drought continued until the 1:48 mark, when Emmons added her third 3-ball of the game, but Kaylee Hawkins added a trey of her own. Carter picked up the final Viking basket of the quarter, but Loogootee still led 29-24 with eight minutes left to play.

Diamond added a layup, but Thompson and Knepp cut it back to 28-31.

The game remained at 32-30 for almost 3:00 until Diamond added a free throw with :22 left leading to the 34-30 win.

Other Vikings who scored included Bledsoe with three, Carter with four and Emma Knepp with two.

There was a boys Barr-Reeve C-team game played before the girls game, with B-R winning 37-27 over Dubois.

The Vikes host Paoli on Saturday, while Loogootee travels to Springs Valley.