The Lady Warriors beat the Mountain Lions, 55-52, at the Potomac Valley Conference Tournament in Elkins Monday night in a thrilling overtime comeback.

Pocahontas County was down by as much 12 points in the first and third quarters but managed to beat Tucker County.

The PCHS fans roared in support while the girls rallied in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 46, with only five seconds left on the clock.

"I think we outscored them 20-8 in the fourth quarter," said PCHS coach Tim McClung. "The girls played really hard, they didn't quit when they were down. They kept on."

The Lady Warriors had played the Mountain Lions twice earlier in the season. PCHS won at Tucker County, 53-49, and were handed a loss at home, 68-64, producing two of the closest point spreads this season for the Lady Warriors.

The Lady Warriors were up by one in overtime when Senior Erin White clinched the game with two consecutive free throws with only seconds left on the clock.

McClung said he was pleased with the way the girls were shooting and the recent extra focus on free throws has paid off. Every player shoots around 130 shots during the course of each practice, he said.

"We've been working on free throws in practice, every practice," said McClung. "We try to work on their form, their consistency. Trying to get their mind in sync with their shot form. We shot really well, I think we shot 80% from the free throw line."

The Lady Warriors intensity didn't let up even leading into overtime.

"I think our conditioning really showed towards the end of the game," said McClung in a post-game interview. "We still had a lot of zip, moving the ball up and down the floor. If you're not in good shape you're going to short arm those foul shots, they're going to come up short. Also we rebounded the basketball really well last night. I thought that was very important."

Senior forward Chloe Bland was the leading scorer for the Lady Warriors with 22 points. Bland also led the team defensively with 16 rebounds, five blocked shots and four steals. Senior guard Erin White scored 10 points, snagged two rebounds and stole the ball twice. White shot six-for-six from the free throw line, to help assure the PCHS victory. Lady Warrior guard Heather Snead scored seven points throughout the game and snagged three rebounds. Freshman guard Tristin Day contributed seven points, two rebounds and two steals for the Lady Warriors. Senior forward Miranda McNabb scored six points and brought in four rebounds, Lady Warriors guard Olivia Workman scored three points, pulled in two rebounds and stole the ball twice.

The Lady Warriors are the Potomac Valley Conference Champions for the second year in a row, and were awarded a plaque after the game. The Lady Warriors beat Tucker County last year as well for the title.

The tournament was originally scheduled for Saturday evening, but had been postponed due to inclement weather. Monday night's win will help decide the Lady Warriors' post season schedule.

"It was a very big win for us. I think it'll boost us in the state standings," said McClung. "If we're fortunate enough to win our sectional and our regional tournaments, we could possibly end up getting the #4 seed at the state tournament."

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