East Palestine 45, Valley Christian 41

EAST PALESTINE — It’s always close when East Palestine plays Valley Christian.

The 23rd-seeded Bulldogs went on a 17-5 fourth-quarter run to rally past the 27th-seeded Eagles, 45-41, in a Division VI girls basketball sectional opener Tuesday.

All three games the two teams played this season were decided by four points or less with East Palestine winning two of them.

East Palestine (11-12) advances to play second-seeded Canton Central Catholic (17-5) in a sectional final at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Crusaders opened the season with 10 straight wins.

Jacklyn Ogle guided the Bulldogs with a game-high 17 points and six rebounds. Amara Wilson collected eight points, nine rebounds and three assists and Destiney Burtyk had eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

Trailing 36-28 after three quarters, Jacklyn Ogle scored six points and Destiney Burtyk five in the Bulldogs’ 17-5 fourth-quarter outburst that lifted them to victory.

Aaliyah Underwood topped Valley with 21 points, including 11 in the first quarters when the Eagles took a 16-7 lead.

Valley lost five of their last six games to finish at 7-14.

VC: 16-5-15- 5–41

EP: 7-8-13-17–45

VALLEY CHRISTIAN SCORING: Dynasty Bratton 1-0-2, Serenity Robinson 3-0-6, Brooklyn Barnette 2-0-5, Aaliyah Underwood 8-2-21, Na’ariyah Graham 1-5-7, Sania Stanley 0-0-0. TEAM TOTALS: 15, 7-17: 41.

EAST PALESTINE SCORING: Jacklyn Ogle 7-2-17, Cami Kridler 2-1-5, Violet Glavan 3-0-6, Amara Wilson 3-2-8, Destiney Burtyk 3-2-8, Marley Blythe 0-0-1, Alexis Ogle 0-0-0. TEAM TOTALS: 18, 8-16: 45.

Three-point goals: Valley 4 (Underwood 3, Barnette), East Palestine 1 (J. Ogle).

Oak Glen 59, Magnolia 30

MARTINSVILLE, W.Va. –Oak Glen snapped Magnolia’s three-game winning streak with a 59-30 victory in girls basketball play Tuesday.

Oak Glen improves to 12-8 and will host St. Marys on Thursday.

Magnolia drops to 10-9 heading into Thursday’s game at Cameron.