Staff photo / Dan Hiner East Palestine’s Jacklyn Ogle (1) goes up for a layup during overtime of Thursday’s game against Valley Christian in Youngstown.

YOUNGSTOWN — An extra period was needed on Thursday when the East Palestine girls basketball team visited Valley Christian. And with only an additional five minutes to play, every possession mattered.

The Bulldogs got a key offensive rebound from Violet Glavan and a layup by way of Amara Wilson to pull out a 48-45 overtime win over the Eagles.

With just over 20 seconds to play, Glavan grabbed an offensive board in the middle of the paint and passed off to Wilson, who was right under the left side of the hoop for the go-ahead score.

Wilson’s basket helped the Bulldogs come back after trailing by nine in the fourth quarter.

“We really felt like we got the momentum shifted. We were playing a little more up-tempo,” East Palestine head coach Rick Gates said.

The score was tied at 7 at the end of the first quarter, but back-to-back steals resulted in fast-break layups for the Eagles. The Bulldogs returned the favor with two steals for layups to tie the game at 11. However, the Eagles finished the half on a 7-0 run to take a 22-13 lead into the break.

The Bulldogs (10-10, 6-7 Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference) had trouble stopping drives to the basket coming out of the locker room. But while they only went 6-for-12, their free throws helped keep the game within reach as the Eagles held a 34-23 lead entering the fourth.

“It kept us close enough in the third,” Gates said. “Jackie Ogle went to the line quite a few times. Ee had other girls step up and make free throws. It just kept us in striking distance.”

Two layups and a free throw from Cami Kridler cut VC’s lead to 34-28 just 40 seconds into the final frame.

The Eagles (6-10, 5-7 EOAC) led by nine with four minutes to play, but just 1:45 of game time later, the Bulldogs cut the deficit to 38-35 thanks to points off turnovers.

Jacklyn Ogle went to the free-throw line with 1:04 remaining, and she converted both attempts to tie the game at 39 for East Palestine.

With under a minute to play, the Bulldogs called timeout to set up a play. But they missed a layup with 5.7 seconds to play.

Na’Ariyah Graham went to the free-throw line for the Eagles with a chance at the lead, but she missed both attempts, and the game went to overtime tied at 41.

Valley Christian got several chances to score due to offensive rebounds in the extra frame, but they only resulted in three points.

That left the door cracked for East Palestine.

Kridler went to the line with 61 seconds left and split the pair, but Glavan grabbed an offensive board on the second attempt and dished it to Wilson, who sank a layup to put the Bulldogs ahead 46-44.

After getting the ball back, facing pressure, the Bulldogs worked their way up the court. The ball ended up in the hands of Bella Wendell, who pushed the EP lead to four with a layup to clinch the win.

Graham led the Eagles with 25 points. Brooklyn Barnette added 11 points, and Aaliyah Underwood finished with eight.

Ogle led all scorers with 27 points, with 16 coming in the second half and overtime. Kridler tallied 12 points, and Wilson ended the night with four, but she had the biggest basket of the night.

Free throws hurt the Eagles, specifically in the second half. They ended 9-of-29 from the charity stripe and went 7 for 24 from the third quarter onward.

“That’s been a struggle for us the entire season,” Valley Christian head coach Julie Austalosh said. “We are typically less than 47% from the foul line, which is less than ideal on the basketball court. It’s something that’s a mental game for them, so we’re always trying to get them to try and take a deep breath before they go and shoot. And if we would have just made one more during regulation, we would have had a one-point win.”

In addition to the competitive contest, the game also featured two teams that are trending upward compared to recent years.

Valley Christian let its seventh win slip away, but its six victories so far this season are the most since going 7-10 in 2022.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs reached double-digit victories after a five-win season last year.

“I took over the program last year, and numbers have been tight. We’re getting a lot of enthusiasm with the younger kids now,” Gates said. “We just gotta turn that corner and get it to be fun again and get the enthusiasm back. But I’m proud of the girls.”