Hardwood Heroes
Alexander rebounds after a tough last season, defeating Crooksville
< < Back toALBANY, Ohio (WOUB)- The Alexander Spartans hosted the Crooksville Ceramics in a tight mid-season match up. The Ceramics have not been able to maintain a winning record this season. The Spartans on the other hand, have been rebuilding after a rough last season. The rebuilding clearly has been working, as they took down Crooksville, 51 to 36.
In the first quarter, neither team could find a rhyme and get things going offensively. Finally, Spartan’s Kayden Bean headed to the line and put some points on the board for her team. The Ceramics called a timeout, which is what they needed. Crooksville came out of the timeout with a desire to score. Crooksville took the lead going up 7 to 4, forcing Alexander to call a timeout. Heading into the second quarter, the game was neck and neck. 12 to 11 Spartans.
The start of the second quarter was the same story as the first. One team would score and the other would respond. Crooksville’s Lexi Van Meter dominated, draining a three to keep her team in the game. Van Meter ended the game with the most points for Crooksville with 14.
When one team gained a lead, the other team would be right behind. Lily Ryder for Alexander drew a foul and tied the game up again, 16 to 16. That’s when the game started to slide away for the Ceramics. The Spartans were dominating offensively, drawing fouls and taking advantage of them. Kaylee Hudnall ended the half with a bucket for the Spartans, 26 to 19.
After half, there was still not much going Crooksville’s way. They could not get much going to help themselves early in the third. Bean sunk one, which put Alexander up 30 to 21.
After some team errors by the Spartans, they allowed the Ceramics to crawl right back into the game. Alexander called a timeout, which helped them come alive and take the game. The third ended with Alexander having the largest lead all game, 44 to 33.
The fourth quarter was a defensive game. Neither team scored until halfway through the quarter. With one minute left in the game Crooksville called a timeout in hopes of developing a game plan. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t in the cards for Crooksville. Alexander took down Crooksville 51 to 36.
Although Alexander has a younger team, they are a force to be reckoned with. Head Coach Morgan Grinstead is excited about this season and all the work the younger players have been putting into the game.
“Well, I feel like we’ve gotten more offensive threats out there with incoming freshmen.” Grinstead said. “I just think that we’re more complete this year than we were last year.”
Sophomore Kaylee Hudnall ended the game with 21 points, 2 steals and an assist. Not only Hudnall, but Bean and Ryder, both freshmen, helped dominate the game as well. This should be an interesting season for the Alexander Spartans, as they host Wellston