The Union Pines girls’ basketball team lost its first game of the season Friday as Westover came up with a 39-37 overtime victory in a classic Cape Fear Valley Conference thriller at Bob Ward Gymnasium.

With 5.9 seconds remaining in regulation, Union Pines led 33-30 as junior captain Crystal Hicks stepped to the charity stripe. But she was unable to connect on the front end of a one-and-one and Westover grabbed the rebound.

Moments later, Wolverine senior captain Jasmyn Trawick swished a long-range bomb at the buzzer, sending the game into a four-minute extra period.

It was the ­second straight meeting between Union Pines and Westover that has been decided in overtime. After finishing last year’s regular season as CFVC co-champions, the Wolverines topped the Vikings 58-56 in overtime of the conference tournament final.

In Friday’s extra frame, the Wolverines struck first when Trawick sank a trey from the left arc. The long ball was her third in the game and put her team in front 33-36 at the 2:45 mark. Nine seconds later, Vike senior captain Tyesha McLean buried a pair of foul shots to trim the margin to 36-35.

With just less than 90 seconds left to play, Hicks missed a jumper but followed her shot, collecting the offensive board and ­putback. Her heads-up basket gave Union Pines a 37-36 edge. On the Wolverines ensuing possession, Tashi Whitney snagged a critical defensive board for the Vikings.

McLean then went back to the line for two free throws with 43 seconds remaining. But this time she was unable to sink either attempt.

The eventual game-winner for Westover came on an offensive putback by Shanice Pringle. The 6-1 Wolverine senior captain was fouled while shooting and sank the free throw to bring the game to its final margin with 9.2 second left on the clock.

Union Pines managed to get off two shots in the final seconds. Whitney missed a deep three but Ross somehow managed to wrangle in the offensive board. Hicks then grabbed the rebound on Ross’ miss, but time expired before she could attempt a putback.

The Lady Vikings saw their nine-game winning streak come to an end as they fell to 9-1 on the season and 3-1 in CFVC play. Westover improved to 4-4 overall and 2-1 in league action.

The game featured 16 lead changes and five ties. The Vikings led 10-8 after the first period, 15-14 at the half and 23-22 after three periods. Union Pines’ largest lead of the night was three points. Westover held an 8-4 lead in the first quarter and led by three points on three separate occasions in the final 10 minutes of play.

Ross and McLean each finished with 13 points for Union Pines. Ross was a dominate force down low in the first half. She had five field goals in the paint for 10 points at intermission along with seven boards and three steals.

Westover focused on denying Ross the ball in the final 20 minutes of the game, as she was held scoreless from the field and got limited touches in the post. She finished the game with 11 boards, while McLean tallied six rebounds three assists and three steals.

Hicks had nine points, nine rebounds, six steals and five assists for Union Pines on the night, while Vike senior Cristina Morcom was a strong ­defensive presence in the post tallying four blocks and three steals in the game.

Trawick had a game-high 16 points for Westover, along with five assists, four steals and four rebounds. Sophomore Kanesha Landford also finished in double figures for the Wolverines in the game, tallying10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. Pringle had 11 rebounds, five points, and two blocks.

Wolverine Boys Overwhelm Vikings

Union Pines dropped its second straight Cape Fear Valley home game with a 58-42 loss to Westover Friday.

The Wolverines (6-2, 2-1 CFV) started the game with an 11-point run, but the Vikes fought back to close the margin to 16-11 after one period.

In the second quarter the Wolverines took full control of the contest, as they scored from behind the arc, in ­transition, down low and off the dribble.

Along with scoring 19 points, Westover employed a high-pressure zone on defense that proved effective by holding the Vikes to one field goal and four points in the frame. As a result the Wolverines led 35-15 at intermission.

Through three quarters Westover was up 48-27. The Wolverine lead soon swelled to 58-32 with 6:17 left in game before Union Pines (3-7, 2-2 CFV) close the game with 10 unanswered points.

Wolverine junior Carlton Ford turned in a dazzling display, finishing with three dunks and a game-high 17 points along with nine rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks. Wolverine 6-6 senior center Michael Jones finished with a 14-point, 17-rebound double-double. Junior Parris Manning led the Vikings with 17 points, while Tevin Gray scored eight points.

Both Union Pines’ hoop squads return to action at the Chatlee Holiday Tournament, in Sanford, Dec. 27-29.

Contact F.W. Manning II at frankwm2@gmail.com.