BY ANTHONY STEVENS
for the Daily Telegraph
HONAKER, Va. — After advancing to the state finals last year, Twin Valley has punched their ticket to regional play this season. The Lady Panthers had a huge second half rally to upend Honaker 57-49 in the semifinals of the Crooked Road Conference tournament at A.P. Baldwin Gymnasium on Thursday.
Megan Ray led the Lady Tigers with 12 of her 16 points in the first half, leading by as many as 11 points. Honaker held a 34-25 advantage at halftime.
It was a different story in the second half. Madison Miller drove to the basket and scored to give Honaker a 42-37 edge with 1:46 to play in the third quarter. The Tigers missed their next 10 shots, and the Lady Panthers began the fourth quarter on a 14-1 run. Lakin Keen had two crucial 3-pointers and Hannah O’Quinn concluded the run with a putback and Twin Valley was up 51-43 with less than three minutes to play.
“It was Lakin that hit the shots to get us back in the game,” Twin Valley coach Tommy Crigger said. “She hit two big 3s. We got the lead and was able to fall back into our zone (defense) and play what we’re comfortable playing.
“Our senior leadership with Lakin and Hannah, they just never panicked.”
Tara Deel hit a trey for Honaker to cut the Panther lead to five. They could get no closer, as Twin Valley pulled away down the stretch.
O’Quinn (15 points), Kim Lester (13) and Vance (12) led the Lady Panthers offense.
Rebounding was a big difference in the game. O’Quinn also pulled down 21 boards. Twin Valley dominated on the offensive glass, with numerous second chance points in the second half.
“When Honaker missed shots, we got the rebound,” Crigger said. “Our best offense was O’Quinn getting the rebound and putting it back in. We rebounded and made some shots in the second half and that’s what it came down to.”
In addition to Ray, Madison Musick was also in double figures for Honaker with 13 points. Madison Miller had six points, seven rebounds and five assists. The Tigers will graduate five seniors.
“It seemed Twin Valley got the momentum to finish out the game,” Honaker coach Misty Miller said. “The girls have played excellent ball this season I couldn’t be more proud of them. It’s just a great group of young ladies.”
In the opener regular season champ Northwood rolled to a 53-47 win over Patrick Henry.

at Honaker High School
TWIN VALLEY (13-10)
Lester 4 5-8 13, Vance 6 0-2 12, Keen 3 0-0 8, O’Quinn 7 1-3 15, Cantrell 4 1-2 9, Matney 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 7-15 57.
HONAKER (15-8)
Musick 4 5-8 13, Deel 1 0-0 3, Ray 7 1-4 15, Shelton 2 4-4 9, Miller 3 0-1 6, Roman 1 0-0 3, Vandyke 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 10-17 49.
Twin Valley................14 11 12 20 — 57
Honaker ...................18 16 8 7 — 49
3-point goals – Twin Valley 2 (Keen 2), Honaker 3 (Deel 1, Shelton 1, Roman 1). Total fouls – Twin Valley 16, Honaker 13. Fouled out - none. Technicals – none.