Brock Netter, Editor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
ALBANY — For the last two weeks, all Vinton County could think about was a pending rematch with Alexander.
So much so, that players jokingly believed that head coach Brett Jones didn’t sleep and pulled endless all-nighters to watch as much film as possible.
“Jones didn’t sleep for four days. He would come into practice and go a million miles an hour about what we needed to do,” Vinton County’s Emma Leaming said. “He was going insane, but he had every single play and every single thing they were going to run. Even on the bench, he was talking and pointing everything out.”
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
Although Jones may have lost a few hours of sleep because of preparation, he slept like a rock … and probably with a giant smile across his face Monday night.
Despite trailing throughout the majority of the night, Vinton County had more gas in its tank down the stretch as the Vikings earned a 60-56 victory over their rival Spartans in TVC action.
“I’m so proud of the confidence the girls played with. I felt like the first time we played them, we played well, but we didn’t make shots,” Jones said. “Coming in, we had to take care of the ball and make shots. We struggled at times with the former, but really great with the latter. I think beating River Valley was a huge confidence boost for us, and this win only creates more belief within them that they can do anything if they have that mindset.”
The Vikings (10-4, 5-2 TVC) trailed entering the fourth quarter, but that’s when Kylee Smith decided it was time to take control of the game.
Although she was productive in the first 24 minutes, the final eight belonged to her as she fought for offensive rebounds and her shots began to fall.
She scored nine of her game-high 22 points in the fourth, while also grabbing 13 rebounds on the evening.
“Her rebound instincts are unbelievable and I couldn’t be more proud of her,” Jones said. “We missed her athleticism last year, and she plays with a motor that never stops. A lot of her points are scored off of offensive rebounding, and she’s such a competitor on both sides of the ball. She did such a great job leading us tonight.”
PHOTOS: Images from Vinton County’s win over Alexander
VC started hot from the field as Trinity Williams and Alissa Perry each knocked down 3’s, leading an 8-2 start. The Vikings made their first seven shots, but Alexander (9-5, 4-3 TVC) quickly rebounded.
Alexander’s Kaylee Hudnall hit a pair of buckets, Macie Hubbard scored, and from that point on, both teams traded buckets throughout the quarter, playing to an 18-18 tie headed to the second.
“Alexander is such a long, athletic team and they have a really good press defense. But I think that actually helped us out in a way,” Jones said. “It sped us up and gave us some really good looks at the rim when we didn’t turn the ball over.”
Much of the same happened throughout the second, but the Spartans started to create a but of separation. Lily Rider knocked down a pair of shots and Lydia Moore buried one from deep to put them ahead 28-24.
The Vikings later forced a tie, but Karah Allison and Kayden Bean each scored to end the half with Alexander leading 33-28.
Coming out of the break, the offensive production slowed but the Vikings started to show signs of life and played through Leaming.
After Perry connected from deep, Leaming scored inside to bring the deficit to 37-33. Later, Williams and Smith scored before Leaming got three points the hard way. That was followed by a 3 from Zoie Nichols to give VC a 43-41 lead. But Hubbard buried the trey on the other end to put Alexander ahead by a slim 44-43 margin going into the fourth.
“I kind of went away from the trap and press that we did in the second quarter, but we went back to it after halftime,” Jones said. “Our depth was a big advantage and we noticed they were starting to wear down just a little bit. The girls never stopped competing because they wanted it, and that’s what it’s all about.”
Smith scored the Vikings’ opening five points in the fourth to put them ahead 48-46, and it was all Vikings for the rest of the night.
Bean hit a 3 to cut VC’s lead to 52-49, only for Perry to bank in a triple of her own on the other end, extending the lead to 55-49 and ultimately sealing the victory for Vinton County.
“We haven’t beaten Alexander in four years, and we wanted this so bad since this was our last chance to get one over on them,” Leaming said. “We played with a will to win. Alexander is a good basketball team, but we wanted it more.”
Following Smith’s final statistics was Leaming, who finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Perry added 11 points.
For Alexander, Rider finished with 19 points and four rebounds, and Bean added 10 points.
Vinton County returns to action on Saturday at home against Jackson, while Alexander hosts Trimble on Monday for non-conference action.
SPONSORED BY VINTON COUNTY NATIONAL BANK
