Season-Ending Win Gives Spartans Tournament Send-Off
Dayton, OH (February 5, 2005)— The Lady Spartans, on their way to a potential rematch with Bellbrook in post-season tournament play, extended their overall record to 13-7 with a 65-20 drubbing of the Northridgge Polar Bears (2-17).
Valley View shot 78.6% (11/14) from the line and 48.3% (28/58) from the field. The five Spartan starters knocked down 45 points enroute to the 45-point margin of victory. Junior foward, 5-9 Kasey Allen, accounted for 18 of the Polar Bears 20 points.
"We just played well right from the start. The bench kept up the rhythm when they went in," commented coach Steve Dickson. "We just ran them up and down the court. That was our game plan."
The Spartans have an eleven-day layoff before they take on the winner of the Bellbrook-Kings first-round tournament game. Despite a 45-63 loss early in the season and more recently a 48-45 loss, Coach Dickson would prefer to see the Eagles again when they finally get into tournament action Feb 16.
"We would like to play them again, for the obvious reason, but more importantly, we know all about them."
The Spartans almost pulled out a victory in their last meeting. A slow start, something that they can't allow in tournament play, and a meager 31% shooting percentage from the field, kept the Spartans from a share of the league title.
"We didn't shoot the ball that well. Couple that with a couple of late turnovers and that hurt us," noted Dickson. "We have the talent and ability. We just have to play well. That means flawless. They're just not going to give it away."
Third time's a charm. The team will take off a couple of days before beginning practice. They'll pick it back up on Wednesday with a practice and then do some of their own scouting when they head to Springboro to watch the Bellbrook-Kings matchup.
"We've improved every year over the course of these seniors last three years. They're going to be looking for that 14th win. They'll be ready to play."
| Valley View | 15 | 27 | 42 | 65 |
| Northridge | 8 | 10 | 14 | 20 |
Scoring: Powers 17, S. Smith 10, Kerns 8, Hasty 6, K. Smith 6, Tipton 4, Ritze 4, Hanahan 4, Moore 4, Rowland 2
