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Athens moves to 2-0 in conference after cruising past Nelsonville-York
< < Back toNelsonville, Ohio (WOUB) – The Athens Lady Bulldogs hit the road to take on the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes, and the Bulldogs would end up winning this matchup 56-37, keeping them in the first-place spot for the Tri-Valley-Ohio Conference title race.
The last time Athens played at Nelsonville-York, there was a different outcome at the end of this game. During the 2022-2023 season, the Bulldogs would fall to the Buckeyes 45-41, keeping Athens hopes of the TVC title out of reach.
Heading into the first quarter, the Bulldogs were on a hot start with quick points from Asa Holcombe and Ella Chapman. Throughout the game, Athens were able to get easy looks from beyond the 3-point line and in the paint, competing against the Nelsonville-York zone.
At the end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs took the early lead of 17-9.
Once Athens had the lead in this game, there was no looking back. The Bulldogs were able to keep the Buckeye offense at bay by containing Airah Lavy and limiting the number of shots she took during the game. Even when Lavy didn’t have the ball in her hands, Athens was able to play solid defense the entire game, gaining 17 steals for the Bulldogs.
By the end of the first half, Athens would still lead Nelsonville-York 29-21.
During the second half, the Bulldogs would get their first free throws of the game. Not many fouls would be called during this game, as the referees would allow players to be more aggressive on both sides of the ball.
The gameplan in the fourth quarter would be changed for Athens as they tried to burn out the game clock and limit the number of possessions for the rest of the game. With the game coming to an end, Nelsonville-York would have to foul the Bulldogs multiple times to get more possessions back. In the last few minutes of the game, Athens would end up making most of their free throws extending their lead. The Bulldogs would end up making 11 out of 14 total free throws for the night.
At the end of the fourth quarter, Athens would end up winning this in conference matchup 56-37.
For this game, the Bulldogs main contributors were Ella Chapman, Asa Holcombe and Quinn Banks. Chapman led the team with 16 points, 7 rebounds and 6 steals. Holcombe had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Banks helped the team with her own 12 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.
Looking towards the future, The Bulldogs will travel to take on Logan for their next matchup.