From opening tip to closing buzzer, Drew Lyness roamed the sideline as he did the past eight years in Soddy-Daisy's Big Boy (Ernest) Eldridge Gymnasium.
Only this time the energetic coach celebrated a tight 37-31 victory there as a visitor. His Walker Valley girls bounced back from a dreadful first half to improve to 2-0 in District 5-AAA on a snowy Tuesday night.
The Lady Mustangs received a go-ahead 3-pointer from Michelle Benson in front of their team bench to take a 21-18 lead as part of a 12-2 run with 3:23 left in the third quarter.
Benson scored all nine of her points in the second half, which included six fourth-quarter points with a steal and successful old-fashioned three-point play to seal the deal.
"Going into that other locker room was way different," Lyness said. "I had been in there a few times cleaning it. Now, I am in there having to talk to my girls. We had a terrible first half, but in the second half we pressured the way I wanted us to. Our defense gave us some momentum that carried us to finish a tight battle."
Cayce Davis had a pair of steals to ignite Walker Valley (3-5 overall) as her defense helped Laney Harris jump-start the offense in the third quarter.
Harris, who entered the contest averaging 16.5 points per game, tied the score with a 3-pointer right before Benson's. She led all scorers with 13 points.
Soddy-Daisy (3-2, 0-1) held a 10-2 lead early in the second quarter, but turnovers and second-chance points allowed resulted in a tough loss.
Bailey Branam sank the lone 3-pointer for the Lady Trojans for a 23-21 lead a minute into the fourth quarter, and Makayla Perez banked in a tying layup off an assist from Branam to make the score 30-all with 1:36 left to play. Despite making just two of eight free throws in the last minute, the Lady Mustangs scored the next seven points, five by Benson.
"Soddy showed a lot of fire, and I think Kayla (Burse) and her staff will do a great job here," Lyness said. "This game brought a lot of emotions, and it was a great place for me to be. I have a lot of respect for this school, but I am also blessed to work with special people now at Walker Valley."
Soddy-Daisy freshman Jada Trimiar had nine rebounds and five steals.
Walker Valley's victory was aided by Emma Bentley, who scored half a dozen second-half points with a perfect 4-of-4 showing on free throws. Davis added five steals, while Tasia Roberts played hard-nosed defense.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at pmaccoon@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.