By LLOYD COMBS
for the Daily Telegraph
PILGRIM’S KNOB, Va. — Twin Valley overcame a poor start to the game. It could not overcome a bad start to the second half.
The Northwood Lady Panthers made a huge third-quarter run and held off the hometown Lady Panthers for a 59-47 win Monday night.
In a key early-season battle between two Crooked Road Conference contenders, Northwood went on an 18-2 run that turned a 31-26 deficit into a 44-33 lead by the final seconds of the third period.
All five Northwood starters scored during the extended run, and it started on the defensive end. The visiting Panthers (5-0) forced 14 turnovers in the second half to build and later protect its lead.
Twin Valley couldn’t convert when it didn’t turn the ball over, hitting just three of 12 shots from the field in the third quarter and shooting just 28.3 percent (17-of-60) overall.
“You can’t shoot under 30 percent and win,” said Twin Valley coach Tommy Crigger. “You can’t miss 10 or 11 layups like we did.
“The first few minutes of the third quarter killed us. I tried to emphasize at halftime that, in any sport, basketball or football, the first few minutes of the third quarter are crucual.”
Tayler Broyles scored 16 points and Kelsey Puckett added 15 for Northwood, which got a balanced effort across the board. Alex Doane added 12 points and eight rebounds, Kelsey Williams tossed in 11 points and A.J. Spence pulled down 12 boards.
Four Northwood players had two or more assists and the visitors beat Twin Valley (2-2) to a number of loose balls.
“They out-hustled us,” Crigger added. “But, again, we had open shots, we missed some layups and you add that in with getting out-hustled for seven or eight minutes you aren’t going to win a lot of ball games.”
Hannah O’Quinn posted a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds and blocked six shots, despite spending much of the game in foul trouble. Kim Lester and Makynzee Cantrell each added 10 points.
Twin Valley missed 19 of its first 22 shots from the field, but rallied from a 16-6 deficit to take a 25-24 halftime lead.
Northwood was 23-of-31 from the free throw line. Twin Valley was 1-of-2.

At Pilgrim’s Knob
NORTHWOOD (5-0)
Puckett 15, Doane 12, Broyles 16, Williams 11, Spence 5, Frye 0, Thompson 0.
TWIN VALLEY (2-2)
Lester 10, Vance 9, Keene 8, O’Quinn 10, Cantrell 10, Matney 0.
Northwood...............16 8 20 15 -- 59
Twin Valley..............6 19 8 14 -- 47
3-point goals-NW 4 (Doane 2, Puckett, Broyles), TV 4 (Lester 2, Keene 2). JV-Game, Northwood, 26-20.