Alexander knocks Nelsonville-York out of TVC-Ohio race
By: Shane Scalfaro
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ALBANY, Ohio (WOUB) — On Saturday afternoon, the Alexander Spartans girls hosted the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes in a sluggish heavy-weight battle between two of the top teams in the TVC-Ohio.
With a TVC-Ohio conference title within their reach, the Alexander Spartans girls looked to keep their conference crown hopes alive and take a win. Nelsonville-York, on the other hand, needed to beat the Spartans in order to still have their shot to win the conference.
It was clear from the tip-off that this game was not going to be won by offense alone. It was going to take the best defense to win this game, and the Spartans were the ones that stepped up the most.
The offensive scoring went back and forth for most of the first quarter, but it soon turned into a lop-sided affair. Alexander’s star-studded duo in Marlee Grinstead and Kara Meeks brought the energy on the Spartans’ offense and got the ball rolling more in their favor, leading the team to a 13-8 lead after one quarter.
The slow scoring continued for both teams in the second. Meeks and Grinstead continued to score points, while the defense managed to hold Buckeyes’ star Mackenzie Hurd to just 4 points in the first half. Alexander led the game 26-15 at halftime.
The defensive battle continued through the second half, with the Alexander Spartans ending up on top, 46-33. Marlee Grinstead and Kara Meeks combined for 33 points, while the entire team combined for 11 steals on the afternoon to help solidify their win.
The Alexander Spartans will in a neutral location on Monday to take on Berne Union, and traveling to Vinton County on Wednesday to play, for what could be, the conference title.
Alexander moves up to 12-8 overall, and 9-2 in the TVC-Ohio.