The Big Walnut girls basketball team put a bow on the best regular season it’s had in more than two decades, outlasting visiting Newark 55-51 Tuesday night in Sunbury.

It was the Golden Eagles’ (20-2) 19th straight win.

Big Walnut finished 13-1 in league play, winning its first conference crown since head coach Carey Largent played 25 years ago. Largent, a 1998 BW graduate, was a two-time All-Ohio standout before playing collegiately at Kent State and the College of Charleston.

She played on some pretty good teams, but this year’s Golden Eagles have been more than pretty good … they’ve been unbeatable since dropping two of their first three games of the season.

The trend continued against the Wildcats as Big Walnut got 15 points from Lexi Federer and another 13 from Alexis Morris to clip the ’Cats. Denza Allen and Remy Largent were steady as well, finishing with nine and seven points, respectively.

Next up, Big Walnut will turn its attention to the postseason.

Fifth-seeded BW will open at home against 37th-seeded Bishop Hartley Wednesday night at 7 p.m. The winner will advance to a second-round showdown with 36th-seeded Hilliard Bradley.

Also: Olentangy 68, Dublin Coffman 57.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Delaware Hayes stayed perfect at home, staking claim to its ninth straight win in its home gym and 14th straight overall thanks to a 71-50 dismantling of visiting Marion Harding Tuesday night.

The Pacers (20-1) jumped all over the Presidents early. Jake Lowman hit a pair of three-pointers and Landon Vanderwarker scored seven of his 15 points in the first quarter as Hayes built a 17-3 lead.

Harding used a solid second to hang around, but Hayes won the third 23-13 to all but seal the deal.

Jeremiah Russell led the charge, hitting three triples in the fourth on the way to a 19-point night. Other standouts included Vanderwarker, who had 15 points; Lowman, who had nine; and Will Sims, who chipped in eight points in the win.

Hayes will cap off the regular season Friday night against visiting Franklin Heights before opening tournament play Feb. 27 at home against Logan.

Buckeye Valley 59, Bexley 42

The Barons seem to be rounding into form at just the right time, picking up their second-straight win and fourth in their last five with a convincing 59-42 decision over the Lions Tuesday night in Bexley.

Buckeye Valley (11-10) set the tone with a 22-point first quarter and never looked back.

Zane Melvin poured in a team-high 22 points thanks to 6-for-7 shooting from behind the three-point line. He also had seven rebounds and three assists.

Marcus Hemphill had a big night for BV, too, finishing with 18 points and seven boards while Dane Fisher finished with 12 points in the win.

Buckeye Valley closes out the regular season Friday night against visiting Grandview Heights. After that, it’ll open the Division II district tournament against host Licking Valley Feb. 27 in Newark.