Hardwood Heroes
The Alexander Spartans fall to rival Athens Bulldogs in close fashion
By: Maddie Kiefer
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THE PLAINS, Ohio (WOUB)- The Alexander Spartans fell to the number one Athens Bulldogs in The Plains, 45-38.
This game had many playoff implications for the Spartans as they looked to grab a win to stay in the TVC-Ohio title hunt.
The game started off extremely physical with bodies constantly hitting the hardwood. Alexander freshman Lilly Ryder was the first player to knock down a bucket putting the Spartans up early. The Bulldogs did not let Alexander score easily though as a full court press led to many turnovers for the Spartans and in turn, points for the Bulldogs. The first quarter ended with Athens in front, 11-9.
The second quarter started off extremely strong for Athens, including the game’s largest lead at nine. Alexander did not give up though, going on a run to end the quarter backed up by two Julianna Cain threes and a Mckenna Moore-and-one. The Bulldogs had the slight edge leading 27-26 at the half.
The third quarter was very slow for both teams, but ended 34-34 to set up for a fourth quarter showdown.
Unfortunately for the Spartans, the showdown would not come as they would only go on to score four points in the fourth. Athens would take the game 45-38 and essentially knocked Alexander out of the title race.
The Spartans faced the Bulldogs earlier in the season where they lost by twenty points. Coach Morgan Grinstead talked about what the team did right despite the loss, “I think our defense was incredibly good, I think our effort was great, I couldn’t ask for better effort. That’s all I ask from this team, is to give effort the whole game and I think that’s what we did.”
Alexander looks to continue their successful season at Trimble on Saturday.