Spartans defeat Vikings with overwhelming defense
By: Jack Zwiezinski
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Albany, OH (WOUB) — The Vinton County Lady Vikings traveled to the Alley to match up against the Alexander Lady Spartans for the second time Thursday night. The Vikings fought hard but the Spartans came away with a win, 53-36.
The Spartans struck first with a free throw to put them up 1-0. The Vikings retaliated with two threes back-to-back. The Spartans were able to extend the lead, finishing out the first quarter up 12-8 over Vinton County.
The Vikings started to find their stride within the second quarter, stringing together a run to help close up the gap. The Vikings moved the ball around well, making it hard for the Spartans to pin down the ball and try to force turnovers.
Vinton County would kick the ball around the arc while looking for lanes to open up during the chaos, and tried driving through the paint to overcome Alexander’s height advantage. The Spartans ended the first half up on the Vikings 26-17.
The Spartans opened up the third quarter with a tense full court press that made moving the ball up and down the court difficult for the Vikings. The ball movement helped with the tight press but Alexander was able to force simple turnovers with their smothering defense.
By the third quarter both defenses were active and the ball was constantly in movement. Both teams were swarming the ball and made it incredibly difficult to put shots up. The Spartans managed to keep their foot on the gas and stayed up 40-22.
Vinton County started off the fourth quarter in a similar fashion. The Lady Vikings continued to keep the ball from staying in one place too long, while trying to break around the Spartan defenders and crash the basket. However, the Spartan defense was a little too much for the Vikings to keep up with, and Alexander took the game 53-36.