SETH – For the first time since the 2004-05 season, the Sherman Lady Tide have finished the regular season with more wins than losses.

Now, Sherman coach Terri Dawn Williams and the Lady Tide hope to take their regular-season success into the sectional tournament and beyond.

“This week was a good week,” Williams said. “Our wins pushed us over the edge on a winning record, which is something that has happened here in a while.”

Williams’ squad was a perfect 3-0 last week, with wins over Teays Valley Christian on Monday, Van on Wednesday and Chapmanville on Thursday.

The Lady Tide finished the regular season with a 10-9 record.

Sherman took its three-game winning streak into the sectional tournament, where the Boone County squad faced Herbert Hoover on Monday at Sissonville High School. Results for that game were unavailable for this week’s issue but will be published in next week’s edition.

Sherman split a pair of regular-season games with Herbert Hoover, winning 61-51 on the road on Jan. 24 and losing 43-37 at home on Feb. 12.

“We split games with them this year, so we can obviously win this game,” Williams said. “They key to our success is a good team defense to stop them from scoring.”

The Sherman-Herbert Hoover winner will play Sissonville tonight.

Sherman 38, Van 28

The Boone County rivals traded the lead in the first half.

The Lady Tide led 8-6 after the first quarter, but the Lady Bulldogs led 14-10 after the second quarter in a slow-paced, defensive-minded game on Senior Night at Van.

“We came out strong early and started rolling,” Van coach Jason Conrad said. “Our defense was stellar, especially on their shooters and their big players underneath.”

The Lady Tide mounted a comeback in the third quarter, tying the score at 20 entering the final period.

Sherman outscored Van 18-8 in the fourth quarter to earn the win.

“We started out the game horrible,” Williams said. “It wasn’t until the end of the third quarter that we started making shots.”

Senior guard Brittany Merritt led the Lady Tide with 10 points. She also had five boards and two steals.

Junior forward Madison Bowman added eight points, 15 rebounds and two steals. Junior forward Megan Williams contributed eight points, five boards and one steal.

Junior guard Crystal Halstead collected six points and nine boards. Junior guard Jessica Hudson recorded six points and eight boards.

“Our shots started falling in the second half,” said Williams, whose team scored more points in the fourth quarter than it did in the first half. “It was a great game. We didn’t pull away until the last two minutes of the fourth quarter.”

Senior guard Meghan Pauley led the Lady Bulldogs with 10 points. She also had eight boards and three steals.

Senior guard Kristen Jarrell added eight points, four boards and two steals. Junior forward Hannah Brown contributed six points and three boards.

Senior forward Erin Beth Cook provided two points and five boards. Senior center Savannah Holland recorded two points, two boards and one block.

“We had trouble transitioning starting in the second half,” Conrad said. “It seems like we got tired, which is something that normally doesn’t happen. We don’t go very deep on the bench, so when we get tired we start playing sluggish, and that’s what happened.”

Conrad credited the Lady Tide defense for stifling the Lady Bulldogs' two leading scorers, Jarrell and Pauley. Jarrell averages about 19 points per game, while Pauley averages about 10.

“They played a triangle-and-two defense, which put a girl on Kristen and Meghan the whole game," Conrad said. "That really limited their touches."

Sherman was 3-0 against Van this season, including a 37-27 win on Dec. 30 and a 48-32 win on Feb. 11.

Sherman 44, Chapmanville 40

The Lady Tigers led 7-6 after the first quarter and 27-13 at halftime, but the Lady Tide mounted a 17-point comeback in the third quarter.

Sherman outscored Chapmanville 22-5 to take a 35-32 lead entering the final period. The Lady Tide held on for its biggest come-from-behind win this season.

“We played a two-three matchup zone in the first half, and I think they made every shot they put up,” Williams said. “They hit the first basket of the third quarter, but then we made a huge run and ended up ahead by the end of the quarter.”

Williams said it was Sherman's first win against Chapmanville in seven years, capping a week of milestones for the maroon-and-gold squad.

Williams credits her team’s defense with the win.

“Our man-to-man defense in the second half was great,” she said. “This was a good team win that all came down to our defensive play.”

Bowman led the Tide with 14 points. She also had 15 boards and one steal to record a double-double.

Williams added 13 points and eight boards. Merritt contributed seven points, two boards and two steals.

Hudson provided five points, three boards and one steal. Halstead collected three points, four boards and two steals.

Kelly Garrett scored 11 points for Chapmanville, which also received 10 points from Brittany Lowe.