The Carson Valley Middle School eighth-grade girls' basketball team wrapped up a perfect league season last month with a 34-31 overtime win over Eagle Valley in the Tah-Neva Conference tournament at Carson Middle School.
Carson Valley bounced back from a tough first half to put together a nearly-perfect second.
The Tigers trailed 18-4 at halftime, but outscored the Eagles 30-13 the rest of the way.
The surge was keyed by the second-half shooting of Jordan Chappell (15 points) and Diana Regalado (12 points). Regalado hit six free throws in a row in the third quarter.
Carson Valley trailed by three points with 10 seconds left in regulation when Chappell hit a shot from just inside the 3-point line and was fouled. She made the free throw to force overtime where Lexie Weaver hit a driving baseline layup and Regalado added a basket for the win.
"I am as proud of this team as any team I have coached in 10 years of doing this," Carson Valley coach Mike Rechs said. "They worked hard all year long and were unselfish and supportive of each other.
"The tournament championship is an experience I am sure they will never forget and learned an awful lot from."
The Tigers went 13-0 in league play and 14-2 overall.
To start the second half of the season, Douglas beat Alder Creek 27-17. Regalado had nine points, Chappell had eight points and Weaver and DJ Shiflet each scored four.
Carson Valley then traveled to Eagle Valley and picked up a 27-12 win. The game was tied at 12 at halftime but Carson Valley switched to a zone defense and didn't allow a single point in the second half. Shiflet led the Tigers with nine points, Chappell had seven, Regalado had five and Ericka Munoz scored four.
The Tigers improved to 8-0 with a 28-21 win over Carson. They came back from six down at halftime to pick up the win. Regalado scored 10 points, Chappell has six, Weaver had five and made a big defensive play, stealing the ball at midcourt and scoring the layup. The team shot 6-for-6 from the free-throw in the fourth quarter.
Carson Valley beat South Tahoe 22-9 and Pau-Wa-Lu 28-9 to close out the regular season.
In the conference quarterfinals, Carson Valley again beat Pau-Wa-Lu, this time 32-12. Chappell and Regalado each had six points, Shiflet, Holly Kerrigan and Munoz each had four and Emily Downer, Megan Welch, Weaver and Kelsey Endter each had two.
Carson Valley advanced to the championship with a 24-11 win over Alder Creek as Chappell scored 11 points and Mackenzie Parks had an excellent defensive game. The Tigers also had strong contributions from Taylor Bailey, Shelby Gallagher and Tristin Silva throughout the season.
