Hardwood Heroes
Vinton County Lady Vikings Stay Alive with Buzzer Beater against Gallia Academy
By: Zack Mothersbaugh
Posted on:
McArthur, Ohio (WOUB)– With the Vinton County Lady Vikings on a six game losing streak, they needed to turn it around to stay alive in the playoffs.
And early on, it looked just like those games. Vinton County really struggled to score, as they were only able to muster 3 points in the first quarter, and they quickly found themselves down.
Gallia Academy scored 12 in that first quarter and then followed it up with a 10-3 run early in the second quarter.
And that’s when it clicked for Vinton County, with three minutes and 11 seconds left in the second quarter, the Vikings ripped off 13 straight points. This sent them to the locker room with only a three point deficit and all the momentum.
It seemed like Vinton County knew something on defense, and they exploited it.
“ We watched film on them before, we noticed that they couldn’t really dribble the ball left that well, so we were all like, we need to push them left,” Viking freshman Kylie Smith said.
After they got back in the game, Vinton County kept pushing. It was on the back of Emma Maynard, who scored 18 of her 20 points in the second half, and the Vikings found themselves up 1 at the end of three quarters.
In the fourth quarter of a must-win both teams turned it on. Gallia Academy was able to force their way into the paint, and Vinton County could not stop fouling. The Blue Devils took advantage, and found themselves with a three point lead near the end of the game.
Then Emma Maynard walked into a three at the top of the key, and knotted the game up with just six seconds left.
After a timeout, Gallia Academy inbounded the ball, and almost immediately, Emma Maynard got a steal near the half court line. With the Blue Devil team all down the court, that left a 2 on 1 for Maynard and Kylie Smith.
Maynard found Smith on a bounce pass wide open right under the basket, and just as the buzzer sounded, Smith put the layup in and gave the Vikings a 48-46 victory.
This sends the Vikings and all their momentum to Chillicothe on Thursday to face the Unioto Lady Shermans who are 22-0 on the season.