Vinton County squeezes past Meigs in an intense TVC-Ohio battle
By: Bryce Tinson, Cole Patterson
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Vinton County and Meigs squared up in some TVC-Ohio action. Vinton came in on six game conference win streak, meanwhile Meigs has won five straight. The Marauders needed this game to stay in the title race. The Vikings were looking to stay in step with the Alexander Spartans atop the conference. It was set up to be a great game.
This game started out all VC. They came out in a full court press that rushed Meigs into poor shots and passes. The Vikings turned those steals into points on the other end, getting out in transition and taking good shots.
Senior Forward Lacey Williams striped two in from deep, while senior point guard Tegan Bartoe was facilitating the offense with three assists. Senior Cameron Zinn was active defensively racking up four steals. Meigs couldn’t buy a bucket and it got them in a 23 to eight hole early.
Coming out of the quarter break, the script flipped. The Vikings couldn’t hit open shots and the Marauders finally broke through the press. They were able to convert on the looks they were missing in the first quarter.
Defensive breakdown from VC limited their ability to run out in transition and they were only able to muster seven points in the second quarter. Junior guard Jennifer Parker was on fire and was a large part of the Marauders clawing all the way back and cutting the VC lead to three; 30-27
The second half was a huge change in pace. The game slowed down greatly and both teams had trouble finding their rhythm. It was a lackluster quarter that saw a lot of missed defensive assignments and missed open shots. Meigs won the third 11-10 cutting the lead to just two.
In the fourth quarter the game saw a back and forth between Bartoe and Senior guard Mallory Hawley. Bartoe scored 10 in the final frame, while Hawley had seven. It was yet another poor shooting quarter for both teams, but they were able to convert their free throws. The Vikings were able to pull away a little bit and win 60-54.
Hawley finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Bartoe finished with 20 points, six assists and five rebounds. Zinn had eight points, 11 rebounds and four steals. The major X-factor was junior forward Chloe Haybron. She carried the team while they were in shooting slumps and finished with 12. Another junior forward, Lindsey Riddle also helped carry the load with 14 and two threes.
The Vikings take on Wellston Saturday, meanwhile Meigs plays first place Alexander.