BIDWELL — Coaches usually look to seniors for leadership, but sometimes they also look for them to step up in big games.

River Valley’s lone senior, Jenna Ward, more than did her part in that role Tuesday night, scoring a game-high 14 points — which included sinking the game-winning free throw with 23 seconds left in regulation — to help the Lady Raiders claim a thrilling 38-37 decision over visiting Gallia Academy in a non-conference matchup between Gallia County rivals.

The Lady Raiders (2-0) remained perfect at their new gymnasium with a second straight home win again a major rival after claiming a 56-47 win over Meigs in the opener on Saturday. But unlike that season opening decision, the Blue Angels (1-2) were able to overcome an early RVHS surge to make the contest a real nail-biter.

The Lady Raiders stormed out to a 14-6 advantage after eight minutes of play and then used a small 10-9 second quarter run to take a comfortable 24-15 edge into the intermission.

The Angels — playing in their third consecutive road game over the last four days — made their big charge early in the third quarter, going on an 8-0 run over the opening 2:15 of the second half to pull within a single point at 24-23.

The hosts snapped their dry spell at 5:15 with a basket for a 26-23 edge, but GAHS countered with five straight points to take its first lead of the night (28-26) with 4:23 remaining in the third canto.

River Valley closed the quarter with a small 4-2 run, making it a 30-all contest at the end of three quarters.

Points were hard to come by down the stretch, but the guests struck first with a basket at 6:34 to take a 32-30 edge. It would also serve as Gallia Academy’s final lead of the evening.

Ten seconds later, RVHS recaptured the lead when Ward nailed a trifecta for a slim 33-32 cushion. Both teams ended up tied at 33, 35 and again at 37 with 42 seconds remaining, setting up the dramatic conclusion.

Ward, who was shooting two at the line with 23 seconds remaining, calmly sank the second of her two attempts — giving the hosts a 38-37 cushion. Gallia Academy managed to get a decent shot down the stretch, but ultimately the ball did not go through the net.

Ward also helped lead the charge in that opening quarter, scoring eight of her game-high 14 points during that stretch.

Brooke Marcum added eight points to the winning cause, followed by Kelsey Sands with seven markers and Tracy Roberts with four points. Cady Gilmore and Alli Neville rounded out the scoring with three and two points, respectively.

The Blue Angels were led by Amy Noe with 11 points, eight of which came during that key third-quarter run. Haley Rosier was next with 10 markers, followed by Morgan Daniels with six and Allie Troester with five. Brea Close and Tara Young rounded out the scoring with three and two points, respectively.

Another key element to the final outcome of the contest came at the free throw line. River Valley was 7-of-10 at the charity stripe, while the guests finished the night 5-of-17 at the foul line.

Gallia Academy did salvage a split on the evening with a 35-6 victory in the junior varsity contest. Abby Wiseman led Gallia Academy and all scorers with a game-high 10 points. Olivia Glassburn, Ashley Morgan and Mercedes Combs each had two points for the hosts.

Gallia Academy will make its fourth straight road trip to start the season on Saturday when it travels to Marietta for the SEOAL opener at 6 p.m. River Valley will host its third consecutive contest on Monday when Eastern comes to town for a non-conference matchup at 6 p.m.