MONMOUTH – If you combine some skills with a little bit of confidence and some good execution, you just might have a pretty reliable offense.

Monday night, Georges Valley and Monmouth were two teams in search of that very mixture. The Mustangs and Bucs combined to shoot 24 for 98, with 70 turnovers in a battle of two young MVC teams. Georges Valley managed to outlast Monmouth, 43-34, breaking the game open in the final quarter.

The Bucs (2-0) outscored the Mustangs 14-4 over the final five minutes.

“I have one girl on the team that played varsity last year,” Georges Valley coach Danielle Mayer said. “I don’t have any type of core returnees on the varsity. I have two freshmen that made a huge difference tonight. I have a bunch of sophomores that made a huge difference and a bunch of juniors. For them to come in a game like this and play hard, is great.”

Junior Bethany Snow led the Bucs with 11 points, while sophomore Katlyn Rich added eight. The Bucs had nine different players score.

“We’re a very balanced team,” Mayer said. “It was frustrating tonight because my top players had rough games.”

Monmouth was missing veteran post player Alyssa Morin to an ankle injury, which significantly hampered the Mustangs offense. Bethany Neal had an immense outing with 23 points.

“Bethany’s doing everything you want out of a senior leader,” Monmouth coach Rick Amero said. “She works her tail off in practice. She never quits in a game situation.”

With Morin out of the lineup, Neal is the only Monmouth player with significant varsity experience. She kept the Mustangs within reach, but Monmouth couldn’t get the offensive consistency it needed.

“We’re still trying to define roles and check out combinations,” said Amero, who had just eight players. “We’re a work in progress. We’re trying to develop a skill level. There’s a lot of things we’re trying to work on in practice. We’re just not at the level we need to be at. They’re working hard, and it will come.”

Though Georges Valley lost much of its roster from last year as well, the Bucs showed some assertiveness on offense. Down the stretch, the Bucs beat Monmouth on the boards and exploited defensive lapses to open up the lead.

“It seemed like we were doing some things we wanted to do,” Amero said. “It looked like offensively, we were getting the ball inside well. Then, all of a sudden, at the defensive end, we’d get outrebounded badly. That seemed to flow into the offensive end.”

Monmouth took the lead with 5:15 left on a pair of Neal free throws. Colleen Haskell tied it, and a pair of free throws by Holly Ames-Allan put the Bucs ahead for good with 5:03 left. A steal by Haskell made it 34-30 with 4:45 left.

Monmouth got a leaner by Neal with 3:49 remaining, but Snow beat a defender for an easy layup and Jill Bradbury put back a rebound with 1:59 left for a 38-32 lead.

“They put their will onto us,” Amero said. “They took control of the game.”

After a Neal basket with 1:47 to go cut the lead to 38-34, the Bucs finished the game off with free throws by Rich, Jessica Veilleux, Ames-Allan and Emily Cocks.

“That’s what good teams do,” Mayer said. “They need to make their foul shots. They need to be able to play down the stretch. I was very happy to see my team come through at the end like that. That’s what good teams have to do.”