By Mark Carpenter

People’s Defender

Once again the road to a Southern Hills Athletic Conference girls big school title will have to run through Coach Rob Davis and his North Adams Lady Devils. With a thrilling win on the road at Lynchburg on Monday night, the Lady Devils have set themselves up in prime position to claim yet another SHAC crown.

Going into Monday night’s contest, North Adams and Lynchburg each had one conference loss and the winner would take sole possession of first place in the big school division. That winner was the Lady Devils and with it they clinched no less than a tie and with a win in their final conference game at West Union next week, they will win it outright.

Before a packed house at Lynchburg on Monday night, the contest was as close as everyone expected going in. In the opening period, the Lady Devils had no answer for Lynchburg’s red-hot Addison West, who scored 8 of the 13 Lady Mustang points.But on the other side, North Adams’ Katelynn Boerger scored a couple of buckets inside the arc and then left her comfort zone to drill a three-pointer and the opening quarter ended with the home team up 13-11.

The second period was another tight one with the Lady Mustangs winning it 8-7 to take a slim 21-18 lead into the halftime break. West found the range again after the break, scoring 11 in the third quarter, including a pair of three-balls. Boerger tried hard to match that with four buckets of her own and a three-point goal by Harlee Brand helped keep the Lady Devils within 40-38 after three.

As they often do, the North Adams girls made the plays when they counted over the final eight minutes, taking the lead in the last three minutes and then hanging on for the 51-45 triumph. In the final frame, the visitors weren’t great from the free throw line, hitting 7 of 14 but it was enough to do the job.

Katelynn Boerger continued her offensive resurgence as she led the Lady Devils with 19 points, joined in double figures by Harlee Brand with 15. Lynchburg’s Addison West led all scorers with 28 points.

The Lady Devils improved their record to 14-4 overall, 11-1 in conference play. They face a tough non-conference battle on Wednesday night when they will host South Gallia, one of the top Division IV teams in the district. On Senior Night, February 5, North Adams will host Minford and then on February 8 will go to West Union looking to clinch another SHAC title.