By KEVIN ECKLEBERRY

Daily News

They needed that one.

After opening the season with five straight losses, the Callaway Lady Cavaliers held off Valley 47-40 on Friday night for their first win of the season.

“I think getting that one win is liking getting a monkey off your back,” said Callaway head coach Deyano Martin. “And now, I think they can learn from it, see how it feels. Once you get a taste of it, you like that feeling, and you’ll play a little bit smarter, a little bit harder.”

The Lady Cavaliers outscored the Lady Rams 15-8 in the first quarter, and they were ahead 23-14 at the half.

Valley made its move in the third quarter, outscoring Callaway 17-8 to deadlock the score heading to the final quarter.

Callaway finished strong, outscoring Valley 16-9 in the fourth quarter to secure the hard-earned win.

“I thought all the girls came out with great effort,” Martin said. “We were diving on the floor for loose balls.

“I think the effort was there, and I enjoyed watching this team play.”

Sophomore guard Gabrielle Johnson led Callaway with 17 points, and she made three 3-pointers.

Post player Camryn Stargell added 11 points, and she had six critical points in the fourth quarter.

Niakoe Burks contributed eight points, and Chaple Butler and Javonna Bradford had six points apiece.

Callaway will try to keep the momentum going when it visits Temple next Friday in a Region 5-AA game.

Callaway is looking for its first region win after losing close ones to Heard County and Lamar County last week.

“We just need to execute, keep learning from our mistakes and just keep working,” Martin said.