Valley View Starts Year Off With Big Win
Germantown, OH (Jnauary 5, 2006)— The Spartans remain undefeated and on top of the SWBL Southwestern Division with a win over visiting Bellbrook, 58-5, Thursday night.
Valley View spread the ball around evenly with four players shooting in double figures, led by sr. Kayla Kerns with 15. But the biggest story of the night was the Spartan defensive play, holding Bellbrook's big scorer, Lynzee Johnson to a below average 16 points.
"Our plan was to neutralize Lynzee (Johnson). We felt if we could keep her contained we could win," commented Spartan coach, Steve Dickson. "Rowland (Jesse) played outstanding defense on her tonight."
Johnson struggled in the first half, where she spent most of the time on the bench, but exploded after the break for the majority of her scoring. Stephanie Zollers added another 14 points for the Eagles.
It was also almost all Spartans after the break. Valley View opened up a 10 point lead after the third period and kept that margin throughout most of the fourth. Bellbook continued to keep it close in the last three minutes with a pair of three pointers that closed the gap, however Valley View would counter with a flurry of baskets to maintain the lead.
"We didn't really get as many steals as we normally do, but we contested every shot they made. That was key for us defensively," said Dickson.
What's next for the 7-2 Spartans?
"This win wasn't our season. We still have a lot of work to do," said Dickson.
The Spartans will visit the Buckeye Division leaders, Waynesville (6-3, 5-0), this Saturday beginning at noon. The Spartans of Waynesville are coming off a big win over Middletown Madison, 55-37. The hometown Spartans will look to avenge last year's 61-30 loss at home.
| Valley View | 14 | 34 | 38 | 58 |
| Bellbrook | 16 | 29 | 38 | 53 |
Scoring: Kerns 15, Tipton 10, Rowland 10, Hanahan 10, Moore 8, Smith 2, Barker 2, Hoog 2
