Sports
Athens Finishes Perfect In TVC Play, Conquers Alexander
By: Briana Ekanem, Michael Abelev
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With some 6 inches of snow outside, the girls of Athens High School heated things up in McAfee Gymnasium for senior night on Thursday, Feb. 6, when they faced off against the Lady Spartans of Alexander High School. With Athens’ quickness, leadership and overall domination on the paint, the Bulldogs ended the night with a solid win over the Spartans, 66-33.
In the first period, Athens made their speed and ball-handling skills evident right from the get go. Working primarily outside the 3-point arch to establish some structure, the Bulldogs handled the Spartans affectively with quick passing and drawing defenders from their opponent, opening them up with clear shots for the basket.
With the end of the first period, Athens had a comfortable lead on the Spartans, with the score at 20-11.
Though only scoring 22 points in the entire second half, the Spartans found some tempo to hold them up with several players making crucial and at times impressive shots. Though they came back with some fire, the mistakes they had made in the first quarter still plagued them, though Athens’ skill definitely came to much credit.
Offensively sound at making every shot count, the Bulldogs continued to rain shots on the Spartans, making them trip on their own sneakers with how quickly they handled each turnover that Alexander gave up. Junior Dominique Doseck led the Bulldogs with 26 points and 3 rebounds on the night. Senior Hannah DeBruin followed her with 11 points of her own.
Though turnovers were set very evenly with 19 for Alexander and 18 for Athens, it was Athens’ capability to utilize each opportunity, which got them the win. For Alexander, freshmen Leah Richardson posted 18 points and junior Allyson Malone had 5 points.
The Spartans never let down, playing just as hard at the end as they did in the beginning. Athens came away from the night with a solid victory and another win to their undefeated schedule.
Alexander’s regular season comes to a close and the Lady Spartans will start to prepare for their tournament game on Feb. 15, against the winner of No. 7 Chillicothe Southeastern and No. 10 Federal Hocking.
Athens is one win away from a perfect season and will put that perfect record on the line Saturday night in their regular season finale at Jackson.