Sports
Vinton County Gains Tournament Redemption
By: Megan Stamper, Michelle Mwaura
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They say that history repeats itself, but that was not the case tonight, as the Vinton County Lady Vikings beat the Fairfield Union Lady Falcons 60-41 in the sectional round of the tournament. Last year, the Lady Vikings fell short to the Lady Falcons in sectional play.
The difference for Vinton County tonight was once they got the lead, they were able to hold onto it. The Lady Vikes were ahead 17-16 at the end of the first.
Fairfield Union had trouble containing Vinton County in the second quarter, as Vinton County started the quarter on a 10-1 run and did not allow the Lady Falcons to score a field goal until there was two minutes left in the half.
A huge contributor for the Lady Vikings tonight was sophomore Jalen Hale. “We almost lost to [Fairfield Union] in the Sheridan tournament, so we knew we had to come out and play hard,” Hale said.
Hale had 19 points in the first half alone, along with five rebounds. Due to foul trouble, she did not see a lot of playing time in the second half and went on to finish with 21 points and six rebounds.
Vinton County head coach Mark Dixon was pleased with the development he has seen from Hale throughout this season. “She’s one of the youngest girls on our team, [but] she’s been maturing,” Dixon said. “I wish all [of the team] had as much fun out there playing as she does.”
Fellow sophomore Michaela Puckett had nine points on the night, but had a scary moment when she went down in the second half and did not get back up for a few moments. “She told me her ankle was sprained, and she’ll have the trainer look at it at school [tomorrow],” Dixon said about Puckett’s injury.
The Lady Vikings look to win a sectional title when they take on Sheridan at 2:45 p.m. on Feb. 15, at Logan High School.