JAY – It was a hair-graying, knuckle-whitening, fingernail-chewing kind of game.

And it is just what Chris Bessey says will be the kind of battles his Jay girls’ basketball will see the rest of the way.

The bad news for the Tigers is that its juggled lineup and shorthanded status isn’t going to get too many reinforcements. The good news is that Jay proved just what kind of tenacity and resiliency it possesses in a 49-44 overtime thriller against Telstar.

“This year and last year we’ve run into problems,” said sophomore Hillary Deane. “Other teams might use those problems as excuses, but we use those problems to boost our energy and bring up our intensity.”

Last year, the Tigers were overcoming an ineligible player and subsequent forfeits. This year, Jay has been plagued by injury which has produced a new lineup almost every night. The Tigers lost veteran guard Liz LeBlanc for the season to a back injury and other have been out with illness. Down to just eight players Monday, the Tigers managed plenty of spunk to pull out a gutsy victory.

“Our effort was definitely there,” said Bessey. “We made them work hard. We definitely didn’t get outworked.”

Deane led the Tigers (5-3) with 24 points, including nine of Jay’s 11 points in overtime. Mallory Bonnevie added seven and had the tying basket with 38 seconds left in regulation.

“It was a great win,” said Deane. “We’d lost two games in a row. We know we had to come out tonight with intensity. The crowd helped us. So this win is a great win. It’s good to win, but when you play as a team and play really good together, it makes it even better.”

Telstar, ranked fourth in the latest Western C standings, got 22 from Bailey Davis and 17 from Josie Reiss. The Rebels (4-3) hit eight 3-pointers out of 17 field goals. When Jay tightened up its defense on Davis, the Rebels struggled to produce consistently and missed plenty of shots inside.

“I think they did a nice job of changing our style,” said Telstar coach Kelly Dole. “Bailey was effective and still got her points, but it threw us off enough in our offense that we didn’t get the other girls involved like we have been.”

Jay opened up a 31-23 lead in the third quarter with 12 straight points, seven coming from Deane. The Rebels battled back and took advantage of 10 Jay turnovers in the final quarter. After a Bonnevie basket with 4:00 left, Davis scored on a drive and Reiss hit a 3-pointer with 2:44 left for a 38-36 lead.

Bonnevie managed to tie it in the final minute when she made a move at the foul line and went for the lane. She was fouled on her leaner but couldn’t convert the three-point play.

“I just wanted to go to the basket,” said the sophomore. “I hadn’t gone to the basket all game. It was cross-over and go.”

In overtime, Deane scored off a press breaker and then finished off a fast break for a 42-28 lead with 2:08 left.

“We worked together, and got the ball up the court,” said Deane. “We looked for the open man.”

Two free throws by Deane made it 44-38, but a Reiss 3-pointer cut the deficit to 44-41 with 1:19. Davis had a crack at a 3-pointer but it missed. Deane got the rebound and hit a free throw. Deane added two more and Bonnevie sank a pair to get the lead up to 49-41 before late scores by Davis and Reiss.

“Even if we wouldn’t have won, our effort was there,” said Bessey. “They won four in a row and beat four good teams. They have two of the better offensive players in the league, and they had to work for what they got.”