Athens Bulldogs roll through River Valley Raiders
By: Camden Walsh
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The Athens girls ventured down to River Valley high school to take on the Raiders, trying to keep their conference record perfect. The Bulldogs left this one retaining their perfect conference record, taking this matchup, 57 -38.
The first quarter featured Athens moving the ball all across the court, making the extra pass every time until they got an open shot. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, River Valley wasn’t letting up, keeping the score close for the early moments of the first frame. Quinn Banks would find Lex Koopal twice on drives to the basket for two helpful layups, along with hitting a top of the key three of her own to help get her 16 on the night.It was a quiet end of the quarter, two points for each team in the last four minutes being all that was scored. The Bulldogs would lead after one, 13-7.
The second section of this game began more in favor of the Raiders, as they’d go on a 5 point run in the first minute to cut the lead to just one. The Bulldogs would respond though, with a close finish from Asa Holcombe getting the lead back out to four following a free throw. This matchup was quite decently physical and featured the two teams taking trips to the stripe often. Ella Chapman would find herself an interception off a Raider pass for the Athens girls but the Raiders played a bend don’t break style of defense to get possession back. Koopal found her way to the basket once again to get her first half point total up to eight. All this back and forth would lead to the Bulldogs holding just a one point lead at the break, 22-21.
Back for the third like they never left the court, the intensity stayed as well, hovering over the floor for the entirety of the ten minute break. There was no better example of that then the immediate tying of the game at 24 apiece. River Valley would give up a free throw but knock down a big three point bucket on the other end to take the lead and put it at two. Koopal wanted the lead back though, backing down the shorter defender and getting a turnaround jumper before nailing two free throws, the crowd noise not fazing her at all on her way to a 17 point performance. As a following act, Asa Holcombe maneuvered her way to the bucket for two back to back layups and got the lead out to 6 for Athens. The Bulldogs would begin flying around the court, Quinn knocking down a big three to make it 9, constant defensive pressure and unstoppable rebounds helping to stretch out the lead to double digits. Athens would carry a 20-9 run in the last 6 minutes of the third quarter, leading 44-33.
The Bulldogs third quarter dominance set them up well going into the fourth, where they continued to take smart shots, grab all rebounds, and drain the clock till this one came to a close with Athens on top.
River Valley will look to rebound when they take on Dawson-Bryant this Saturday.
Extending their current win streak to two and their overall record to 10-2, the Bulldogs are in prime position to take the conference for a second straight year. Their next challenge will arise when they host Portsmouth Notre Dame this Saturday.