The South Callaway girls had to battle Tuesday night at Van-Far.
The Lady Bulldogs faced a physical Lady Indians team that led after the first quarter but overcame in a 51-41 victory to extend their win streak against Van-Far to 11 games. Senior Raegan Brown had a game-high 28 points, draining 8-of-10 free throws, and was followed by senior Hailee Potter's 10 points and junior Lacey Mathews' six points. McKenna Engh-Hoffman led Van-Far in scoring with her 28 points.
Going into Tuesday, the Lady Indians (0-2) were not only looking to break a losing streak against the Lady Bulldogs (1-1) as Montgomery County did last month but for a better result than the 69-40 loss to Northeast (Cairo) in their season opener. Van-Far played to its first margin of defeat of less than 20 against South Callaway since 2016, when the Lady Indians lost 50-42.
Head coach Daniel Burns said Van-Far presented an energetic atmosphere on Tuesday night and the Lady Bulldogs' opponents brought that same energy to the game.
"It was a tough, hard-fought game. The atmosphere was great, as Van-Far is a tough place to play," Burns said. "They are a much improved team. They were a tough, physical team that played with a lot of energy. They jumped on us early, and we had to dig our way out and our girls did a great job and finished."
Van-Far led 13-9 after one quarter and trailed 26-25 at halftime. South Callaway started distancing itself in the second half, leading 36-29 after three quarters. Burns said he is proud of how his girls responded with energy and were able to make adjustments throughout the game.
South Callaway stays on the road for a 5:30 p.m. Tuesday game at Wellsville-Middletown (0-2).