After ending the second half of the regular season with a lack luster record of 7 wins to 3 losses, the Lady Muskies are finally showing their true colors. Two games into the Division II Sectional tournament, the girls have already pulled off two arguably unexpected victories.

For the girls the tournament was ushered in by their game against Meadowbrook on Monday. To the dismay of the John Glenn cheering section, the team struggled in the beginning, made victim by the Lady Colts’ formidable offense. Understandably, the girls’ fates looked grim, managing just 30 percent shooting average for the entire game.

The seemingly nonexistent offense may be contributed to the loss of a key player. Senior Jenna Gebhart broke her left index finger during a weekend practice, thus pushing Kayla Bates into the spotlight. The pressure didn’t seem to affect the senior; she countered with nine points and seven rebounds.

However, defense became the Muskies’ redemption, eventually leading them out of an 11 point deficit late in the third quarter. With the correlation of a lessening Colt offense, the team concluded the quarter with six points, reducing the difference to 29-24.

The fourth quarter gave the girls a new confidence. Meadowbrook’s lead was diminished to just one point when a turnover by sophomore Kristyn Heagen gave the Muskies the lead they had worked for. In fact, the Lady Colts wouldn’t score again until 3:27 left in the game.

After regaining control of the game, the girls ran with it. Soon the lead was extended to 10 points with a score of 41-31 with two minutes remaining on the score board. When the dust had cleared, the score reflected the second half turnaround with a final score of 44-34. Led by Molly Scholl with 11 points and Heagen with 10, the girls were poised for their next tourney confrontation, Claymont.

Just two days later, the girls were again engaged in heated action, this time with the Lady Mustangs of Claymont. With a highly charged overtime, the Muskies pulled off another nail biting comeback, barely streaking past their opponents 57-52.

With about 40 seconds left on the clock, the girls were staring at a seven point deficit, which they overcame to initiate a thrilling overtime. Bates scored a career-high 15 points, nine rebounds and five steals, helping to keep the team in the running. Her efforts were supplemented by Kasi Kern’s 13 points and nine rebounds, Heagen’s 10 points, and senior Amber Aitken’s season-high 10.

Aitken stepped up for the Muskies in a big way, landing an important 3-pointer that drew the team that much closer to an even game. Kerns was responsible for the saving overtime, turning an offensive rebound into a tie-making shot with just 26 seconds left to go. She said of their last-minute endeavors “I knew if we calmed down and did what we could do as a team, we would be able to pull out a win.” She added “But if we got so caught up in the time and the score, we wouldn’t be able to concentrate and get the shots to tie the game.”

The overtime developed into a cat and mouse act. The Muskies pulled away thanks to a 3-pointer from Kerns and eight well placed free throws from Heagen to seal the deal.

The girls face an up-hill battle from here on, next dueling the top seed River View (20-1), ranked fourth in the state, on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Kerns remains optimistic for the clash. “We’re going to have to put a lot of pressure on them,” she explained. “What keeps us in the game is defense.”

Girls’ action will begin at 7 p.m. at Zanesville High School.