Hardwood Heroes
Alexander spreads the ball to continue hot streak, defeating Wellston
< < Back toALBANY, Ohio (WOUB)—
The Alexander Spartans (9-5) took on the Wellston Golden Rockets (6-11) at home and continued their winning streak in a one-sided 49-36 victory.
In the first quarter, the Spartans had total control of the game. After giving up a three-pointer early in the quarter, the Alexander defense was all clamps. They shut out Wellston for the rest of the quarter and scored 15 points, giving the Spartans a 15-3 lead going into the second quarter.
The Golden Rockets needed to find their footing and it seemed they adjusted accordingly. While they still struggled to slow down the Alexander offense, they began to get their own moving. The second quarter saw a completely even matchup, with both teams scoring 11 points.
The game also began to get noticeably more physical, with numerous fouls on the tail end of the quarter after seeing virtually none in the early stages of the game. The score heading into the half was 26-14, with momentum seemingly shifting to Wellston.
To open the second half, the Golden Rockets grabbed the momentum and ran with it. After deciding to field two Centers, they began to dominate the paint and scored primarily off layups and offensive rebounds. This led to an 11-2 run for Wellston, bringing the score to within three.
The Spartans called a timeout to slow down the game and make an adjustment. Alexander decided to increase passing into the gameplan to find holes in the defense, to stop the Golden Rockets’ comeback. This new approach helped the Spartans recover, managing to increase their lead, ending the quarter ahead 32-25.
Thanks to the adjustments made, Alexander was able to continue their momentum heading into the fourth quarter. By playing for the ball and tiring out the Wellston defense, the Spartans outscored their opponent 17-11 in the fourth quarter, winning the game by 49-36.
Alexander’s victory was pioneered by a strong passing game and stealing the ball. Individual players had big performances, including freshman Lily Ryder’s 15 points and five steals, but she was one of three players to score 10 or more points this game for the Spartans. Coach Morgan Grinstead said that spreading the points is an important part of the team’s offense.
“That’s always our gameplan. We try to get as many people involved as possible.” Grinstead noted. “You can’t just have two or three people always scoring your points… we want everybody to score as much as possible.”
With this win, the Alexander Spartans improves to 9-5 on the season and 5-2 in conference, winning their third in a row. They now look to take on Vinton County (7-9) on the road Jan. 25.