The Alexander Spartans secure first win of OHSAA tournament
By: Coleman Bacon
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ALBANY, Ohio (WOUB) — The Alexander Lady Spartans (15-7, 8-4) hosted the Huntington Lady Huntsmen (10-12, 5-9) in an exciting sectional semi-final matchup to start tournament play. Huntington was looking to pull off the upset in a rematch with the Spartans. They first squared off in Chillicothe on Dec. 29, where the Lady Spartans pulled out the tough win 42-34. However, tonight Alexander took an early lead and never looked back, winning in The Alley with a final score of 59-37.
Coming into tonight, both teams were looking to continue the momentum built during the final games of the regular season. With Alexander coming in winners of four straight and Huntington winning four of their last five. The offense was on full display, and there was no telling who was going to pull out the victory.
In the first quarter, the Lady Spartans jumped out to an early 9-0 lead with the senior Macie Hubbard stepping up and draining two straight three pointers. Huntington didn’t back down and started producing some offense, going score for score with the lady Spartans finishing the quarter down 19-7.
Starting the second, Alexander continued their offensive onslaught, putting up eight straight points to build their lead to 26-7 midway through the quarter and forcing Huntington to use a timeout. Huntington refused to quit and tightened up their defense, only allowing six more points the whole quarter. With sophomore standout Brailee Hauswirth carrying the load on offense, the Huntsmen pulled within 10 to end the half down 32-22.
In the third, we saw Alexander tighten down on defense, with the full court press in place. They were able to force Huntington into turnovers, and that turned into scores for the Lady Spartans.
The momentum started to swing, and it never swayed back in favor of the Huntsmen. As the quarter wrapped up, Alexander held a strong lead, 45-30.
Jumping to the fourth, we saw more of the same. With the Lady Spartans forcing more turnovers and taking advantage of Huntsmen offensive miscues. With a few late free throws by Lily Rider and three pointers by Kayden Bean, the Lady Spartans pulled away with the 59-37 win.
The Huntington Lady Huntsmen finish the season with a record of (10-12, 5-9).
The Alexander Lady Spartans will hope to carry their momentum and move on to play the winner of Winchester Eastern and Oak Hill on Saturday in Waverly.