Girls basketball: Sheridan fends off New Lex in Perry County thrill ride

NEW LEXINGTON — Leading by 12 with three minutes left, Sheridan finally looked to shake determined New Lexington on Wednesday night.

Four straight possessions with points had momentum firmly in the Generals' favor as they sought to put the final touches on a must-win for its Muskingum Valley League title hopes.

Then the avalanche came.

Six straight points from Kim Kellogg and a 3-pointer from freshman Chloe Dick suddenly had the Panthers within two with a minute left. But Sheridan refused to break, holding the hosts scoreless the rest of the way in a 56-50 thriller before a capacity crowd in The Jungle.

Sheridan junior Jamisyn Stinson scored a game-high 21 points for Sheridan, which hit four straight free throws in the final minute to pull away. Two came from Stinson, who hit 8 of 11 in an eight-point fourth quarter.

It was enough to keep the state-ranked Generals (16-2) tied for first place in the Big School Division with Tri-Valley entering their home showdown at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday at Glen Hursey Gymnasium. New Lexington (14-5), meanwhile, saw its lead over West Muskingum slip to one game in the Small School Division.

Sheridan never trailed and twice built double-digit leads in the first half, only to see the Panthers answer each time.

It was the last flurry New Lex couldn't shake.

Dick's 3 made it 52-50, and Sheridan broke the Panthers' press and set up shop in its own end. Payton Powell was fouled at the top of the key, sending her to the line for a 1-and-1. The sophomore sank both, pushing the lead to two possessions.

New Lex had three chances to get closer but came up empty, and Stinson was eventually fouled and hit both ends of a 1-and-1 to push the lead to 56-50.

"This was a high-quality game where both teams were playing well," Sheridan coach J.D. Walters said. "There was a lot of (defensive) pressure from both teams. We always talk about how this rivalry means a lot to the community members. Especially New Lex, I feel like this is their opportunity to beat Sheridan. Sheridan is successful in nearly every sport, it seems, and obviously New Lex has had a lot of success in different sports through the years as well with wrestling and the (Associated Press) football state titles. But girls basketball is really doing well now since (New Lex coach Jay) Chadwell has gotten there, so this was a huge event just for people showing up."

It was that often-electric atmosphere, especially in the second half, that often fueled New Lex's comeback efforts. It had a 9-2 run in the third to pull within 35-33, which featured a 3 from Dick and a three-point play from Trinity Cook.

In the fourth, after Stinson capped a 6-0 run with a transition basket, Aubri Spicer converted a three-point play and Dick hit two free throws to get the Panthers within 42-38 with six minutes left.

Each time, Sheridan had a response. In this case, it came in the form of four straight defensive stops that led to points in an 8-0 run. Halle Warner's layup off a fast break, following a steal from Powell to trigger it, made it 50-38 with 3:50 left.

New Lex never got the lead after trailing 6-0 in the first 90 seconds, despite multiple pushes, as Stinson and Co. always managed to stop the bleeding.

"We talked about how we probably don't win that game if we don't have the experience we got at the Classic in the Country (at Berlin Hiland)," Walters said. "We had a similar situation where we let a second-half lead slip, and we never responded in the fourth quarter at the Classic when (Canal Fulton Northwest) took the lead. Today we responded multiple times."

The first, after New Lex trimmed a 15-4 lead to 19-14, came in the second quarter, when Ava Heller took a pass from Kaelyn Moss out of a timeout and scored in the lane to stop an 8-0 Panther run.

Kellogg hit a 3 the next time time down to get New Lex within 21-17, but Sheridan scored the final seven points of the half to take a 28-17 lead. Sheridan also scored four straight to end the third to keep a 38-33 lead.

Chadwell praised his team for its resilience, especially after missing nine of its first 11 shots to dig an early hole.

"There were a lot of opportunities to quit," Chadwell said. "Credit to our girls, we kept fighting. At the end we had a shot."

Sheridan's Nora Saffell, with plenty of family sitting on both sides of the gymnasium, said the crowd had an impact. She said the players could barely hear the coaches on the bench during the game because of crowd noise.

It hit its peak when the Panthers made their late-game charge.

"They are a very emotional team, so when they get one (3-pointer), they get a ton," Saffell said. "I feel like we did a good job of stopping it. We didn't let them go off and take the lead."

Chadwell thanked the communities from both schools for providing a regional-caliber environment.

"I told (the players) to enjoy the atmosphere because it's a rarity," Chadwell said. "I thought when we played within ourselves we were able to do that."

Warner had 12 points and Powell and Saffell nine for Sheridan, which made 20 of 46 field goals,15 of 20 at the line and committed only seven turnovers. It helped overcome a 1-of-12 showing on 3s.

Dick's 15 points and Kellogg's 10 paced New Lex, as Sheridan focused its defense on Spicer's drives. The Panthers, who had 10 turnovers, hit all six of their 3s in the final three quarters.

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Sheridan girls fend off New Lexington in Perry County thrill ride