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Valley had a chance to claim an area championship on Thursday but fell short in a 55-41 loss to Beauregard on home court.

“We had an opportunity to come out here and win an area championship and host a playoff game next week and we simply let it get away from us,” Valley coach Georgie Grimes said.

Valley struggled to get going offensively early and it ended up costing them.

The Rams ended up trailing 13-4 after the first quarter and struggled to find a way to get back in the game with the deficit being stretched out to double figures heading into halftime.

“We did not get off to a good start,” Grimes said. “We could not ever really find our rhythm in the game.”

The third quarter was deadlocked as neither team could find any sort of momentum and the score stayed at 10 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Rams were able to chop the lead down to as low as seven in the fourth quarter but could never pull off a run to get themselves all the way back in the game.

“We have to take care of the ball better and make the simple passes,” Grimes said.

“We didn’t do the simple stuff tonight and could never get in any sort of rhythm.”

Darcee Wright carried the offensive load for the Rams all night and finished with 18 points.

She was named to the all-area tournament team for her efforts.

She was not the lone Ram to be named to the all-area tournament team as Kayden Dooley earned a spot on the team as well.

She was second on the team in scoring with 12 points in the championship game.

Aniyah Robinson finished with seven points while Janiya Phillips scored three and Kelsi Carr had one to round out the Rams in the scoring column.

Valley will be heading into the playoffs on a six-game losing streak heading into the state playoffs.

The Rams will travel to Sylacauga on Monday as the team will have to prepare for a quick turnaround after this bitter defeat.

“It is real simple from here next lose and you’re done,” Grimes said. “The next loss will be the end of our season so they are going to have to lock in.”