GAME 11 – Elizabethton 60, Pikeville, Ky. 56 (OT)

Elizabethton’s Lina Lyon hit the go-ahead basket with 1:19 left in overtime, then iced it with a pair of free tosses with five seconds left as the Cyclones nipped Pikeville (Ky.) in a 60-56 thriller Wednesday night.

The nip-and-tuck affair seemed destined for overtime from the outset. The Lady Cyclones held a 27-23 halftime edge, but the Panthers came back to tie it up at 45 heading into the final period. The score was tied on a number of occasions in the fourth canto, with neither team enjoying more than a bucket lead.

Lyon also hit a basket with 2:12 left in regulation to tie the score at 53. The Panthers chose to go for a final shot and worked the clock down to inside 10 seconds, but Jackson’s attempt was off the mark and the game went to an extra frame.

A 3-pointer by Relley Whitson with 1:55 left had Betsy up 56-54 in OT, but Leighan Jackson tied it for Pikeville with a basket at the 1:30 mark. That set the stage for Lyons’ heroics down the stretch.

The Cyclones (10-3) got 21 points from Lyon, 11 each from Olivia Holly and Renna Lane, and 10 points and 10 rebounds from Marlee Mathena.

Pikeville (5-1) was led by Jackson with 20 points while Trinity Rowe added 16 and Kyera Thornsbury scored 11.

PIKEVILLE Ky. (56): Alvin 1-2 0-0 3, Hall 1-1 0-0 2, Trinity Rowe 5-13 2-2 16, Whited 0-4 0-0 0, Thornsbury 4-9 1-1 11, Leighan Jackson 8-12 3-5 20, Theiss 2-5 0-0 4, Kidd 0-2 0-0 0. TOTALS: 21-48 6-8 56.

ElIZABETHTON (60): Olivia Holly 4-10 0-0 11, Lina Lyon 9-12 2-3 21, Renna Lane 4-11 2-2 11, Marlee Mathena 3-7 4-4 10, Fowler 0-2 0-0 0, Whitson 1-7 0-0 3, Lee 2-6 0-0 4. TOTALS: 23-55 8-9 60.

3-Point Goals: PHS—8 (Rowe 4, Thornsbury 2, Alvin, Jackson). EHS—6 (Holly 3, Lyon, Lane, Whitson).