Ventura Lady Vikes roll over CWL, 52-13

    The Ventura girls basketball team opened the 2011-12 season with a conference win and two non-conference loses.

Ventura 52, CWL 13
    The Lady Vikes rolled over Corwith-Wesley-LuVerne, 52-13, in the first game of the season.  The Panthers didn’t stand a chance against Ventura’s aggressive defense.

  The Lady Vikes were able to capitalize on turnovers and missed shots to win the conference match up.
    Ventura gained a 27-10 halftime advantage.  They stretched the lead to 42-13 by the end of the third quarter.  Ventura cleared the bench and still held the Panthers to three points in the second half for the final 52-13.
    “We played a really good game against CWL,” said Coach Rod Huber.  “Everyone got a chance to get some playing time and it was good for our younger players to get some much needed experience.  We were able to get the ball out of the net quickly and score on the break, which I was really happy about.”
    Sophomore Emily Mathews led the scoring with 21 points, followed by fellow sophomore Shelby Rayhons with 13 points.  Newcomer Emily Spilman added some spark to the team with eight points.  Also scoring was Morgan Ames with three points and Courtney Younge, Stacy Hackenmiller and Olivia Hackbarth all had two points each and Hallie Hall contributed one point.
    Mathews led the team under the boards with 12 rebounds.  Sydney Younge and Alix Huse each grabbed four rebounds and Ames had three.
    Mathews and Spilman led the team in steals with six and five respectively.  Ames grabbed four steals and Rayhons had three.

G-H 51, Ventura 33
    Ventura’s inexperience showed on Thursday night when the Lady Vikes hosted Garner-Hayfield for a non-conference match up. 
    “Garner beat us with their experience,” said Huber.  “Our youth really showed as we turned the ball over more than 20 times.  Garner had eight seniors that really carried them.”
    The Lady Vikes held tough in the first quarter.  The Cards scored at the buzzer for a 10-7 first quarter lead.  During the second quarter, Ventura trailed by seven, caught back up and tied the game, but fell behind again by the end of the quarter.  Halftime score was 25-18.
    Ventura’s shooting went cold in the third quarter, while the Cardinals started connecting on their three-point shots.  G-H ended the game with a commanding 51-33 victory.
    “Had we played this game later in the year, I think the outcome would be a lot different,” said Huber.
    Mathews kept the team alive with her hot scoring hand, collecting 21 points. Rayhons dumped in six points, while Spilman had four.  Hall and Younge each had two points.
    Mathews also led the team in rebounds with a team high 17.  Rayhons grabbed five, while Younge had four.
    Younge led the team in assists and steals with three in each category.

Newman 49, Ventura 42
    Ventura came out ready to play when they hosted Newman on Friday, Dec. 2.  Unfortunately, they couldn’t carry the intensity throughout the game and ended up falling to the Knights, 49-42.
    The Lady Vikes tore it up in the first half with a 10-5 first