Ark Valley News - Valley loses to Andover after beating Eisenhower

Valley Center's Madison Runnion and Taylor Latimer battle for a rebound against Goddard Eisenhower.

Valley loses to Andover after beating Eisenhower
By Randy Fisher
Last Updated: February 26, 2015

The Valley Center High School girls' basketball team's loss Feb. 24 at Andover prevented the Hornets from finishing at .500 or better for the regular season. They are now 8-11 overall and 5-6 in the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League II with one game to play, Feb. 26 at Maize South. Before playing Andover, Valley beat Eisenhower Feb. 20 on Senior Night.

For a few fleeting moments Feb. 24 on the road, Valley Center played even with Andover. But against the fifth-ranked team in Class 5A, playing even isn't enough. The Trojans pulled away in the third quarter for a 53-32 win.

"I thought for about three minutes of that game, we played with the necessary intensity level to be successful," Valley coach Daniel Smith said. "During those minutes, it was infectious and enjoyable to watch. It takes a great amount of determination as a group to want to sustain that."

Valley took its only lead of the game at 5-4. Andover came back to lead 10-5 and was up 13-7 at the end of the first quarter and 22-9 early in the second. When the Hornets crept to within 10, the Trojans closed the quarter with a 10-3 run for a 32-15 lead at halftime.

The Hornets opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run. Taylor Latimer scored from down low, Carryn Richter hit a free throw and Kyli Webber hit a 3-pointer off an in-bounds play under Valley's bucket. That little flurry cut the deficit to 11 at 32-21.

Smith liked what he saw during the early minutes of the third quarter.

"It was the first three minutes of the second half where we played hard enough to win possessions," Smith said. "We just have to continue to demand that is the expectation and that is the way you carry yourself for the entire game. Not just for moments or possessions. It's got to be the entire game if you're going to beat a good team."

Webber again hit from long range to make it 36-24. That would be Valley's last points of the quarter, as Jaylyn Agnew scored eight points during Andover's 10-0 run for a 46-24 lead.

Between the Trojans letting some air out of the ball and clearing their bench late in the fourth quarter, Valley outscored them 8-7.

Agnew scored 15 and Audrey Meisch 12 for Andover.

Webber was the only Hornet in double figures with 11.

"Right now we beat the teams we're supposed to beat and we lose to the teams that people from the outside look at and think you're supposed to lose (to)," Smith said. "It's frustrating because we need to make that next step."

Senior Night win

Back in January, Valley Center posted an 18-point victory at Eisenhower. The Feb. 20 rematch at Valley, however, was more difficult, as the Tigers just would not go away.

The Hornets led by 13 in the third quarter and 11 in the fourth, but could not rest easy until the final minute of their 50-46 win.

Smith said the girls did a nice job executing to construct their leads.

"It's kind of the same way at the beginning of the game," he said. "We started strong and we get to that point where, I don't know if we relax, but we just go into a lull."

Eisenhower's biggest lead was 17-14 late in the second quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Webber in the last few seconds put Valley in front 20-17 at halftime.

After scoring just three points in the first half, Latimer took over in the second. She scored eight in Valley's 10-0 run to open the third quarter for a 30-17 lead.

It was after this run that Brynn Minor, who led Eisenhower with 19 points, heated up. She scored seven straight and sparked the Tigers to within six, 33-27, at the end of the quarter.

With Latimer scoring six and Kennedy Weaver two, Valley built its lead to 41-30 with under three minutes to play. Three treys pulled the Tigers to within six, 45-39.

During the final 36 seconds, the Hornets hit 5 of 6 free throws. Weaver hit a pair for a 50-43 lead with 16 seconds to play. With the clock winding down, Valley stood dead still in its zone and watched an unguarded 3-pointer swish for the final score.

The inside-out game was working for the Hornets. Latimer finished with 19 points inside, and Webber had 17 outside.

"If you make them respect you at the rim, which is your highest percentage shot, that opens up stuff on the outside," Smith said.

Weaver added 10 points, her first game in double figures since Dec. 11 when she scored 12 against Cheney. The only other player to score was Carryn Richter with four.

"It's real nice to win on Senior Night," said senior Abbie Lawrence. "Senior Night is like recognition of hard work for four years."

JV plays four times — The Hornets lost three out of four games last week, including a split of two in a tournament, and are now 13-8 for the year.

At Andover, the Hornets couldn't overcome a 6-0 deficit and a scoreless third quarter, losing 36-27. Taylor Rowley led Valley with 11 points. In a game that was close all the way, Eisenhower edged Valley Center 39-37. Beets Petrakis scored 13 for the Hornets.

In the Goddard JV tournament, Valley pounded Eisenhower 45-29 with Rowley scoring 11. Kapaun Mt. Carmel had its way with the Hornets, winning 50-21. Rowley again led Valley in scoring, this time with a dozen.

"C" team splits — Valley split two games last week and is 5-8 for the year. The Hornets could do nothing right at Andover, losing to the Trojans 41-17. Katlynn Owens scored seven for Valley. The Hornets won a nail-biter against Eisenhower, 28-27, as Owens scored nine.

Varsity

Andover 53, Valley Center 32

Valley Center

Weaver 0-2 1-3 0-0 2, Richter 0-0 0-1 1-2 1, Lawrence 1-2 0-0 0-0 3, Webber 3-7 1-2 0-2 11, Latimer 0-0 3-8 0-0 6, Rowley 1-2 1-1 0-0 5, Claussen 0-0 0-0 0-2 0, Boese 0-2 1-2 1-2 3, Runnion 0-0 0-0 1-1 1, Farney 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Petrakis 0-1 0-1 0-0 0, Burnett 0-0 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 5-16 7-18 3-9 32.

Andover

Agnew 1-5 4-7 4-4 15, Day 0-2 4-5 0-0 8, Messina 0-2 3-3 0-1 6, Preboth 0-1 1-1 0-0 2, Meisch 0-0 5-7 2-2 12, Hays 0-1 0-0 0-0 0, Helmer 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Evenson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Geddeis 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Tilson 2-3 1-4 1-4 9, Siebuhr 0-0 0-0 1-2 1, Seabrook 0-0 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 3-14 18-27 8-13 53.

Valley Center 7 8 9 8 — 32

Andover 13 19 14 7 — 53

Valley Center 50,

Eisenhower 46

Eisenhower

Damon 1-2 3-5 7-9 16, Minor 3-5 4-12 2-4 19, Miller 2-10 0-0 0-0 6, King 1-2 0-2 0-0 3, Hochstein 0-0 1-1 0-0 2, Nelson 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Omli 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, As. Kridner 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 7-19 8-21 9-13 46.

Valley Center

Weaver 0-2 4-5 2-5 10, Richter 0-0 1-2 2-4 4, Lawrence 0-3 0-0 0-0 0, Webber 5-9 0-0 2-2 17, Latimer 0-0 8-13 3-5 19, Rowley 0-2 0-0 0-0 0, Boese 0-1 0-0 0-0 0, Runnion 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Petrakis 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Burnett 0-0 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 5-17 13-21 9-16 50.

Eisenhower 4 13 10 19 — 46

Valley Center 8 12 13 17 — 50

Junior varsity

Andover 36, Valley Center 27

VC scoring — Rowley 11, Petrakis 4, Burnett 4, Claussen 3, Runnion 3, Martinez 2.

Eisenhower 39,

Valley Center 37

VC scoring — Petrakis 13, Martinez 9, Rowley 5, Claussen 3, Farney 3, Runnion 2, Burnett 2.

Valley Center 45,

Eisenhower 29

VC scoring — Rowley 11, Farney 8, Martinez 7, Schawe 4, Bachman 4, Owens 4, Sparks 2.

Kapaun 50, Valley Center 21

VC scoring — Rowley 12, Bachman 2, Farney 2, Martinez 2, Owens 2, Sparks 1.

"C" team

Andover 41, Valley Center 17

VC scoring — Owens 7, Jacquez 6, Sparks 4.

Valley Center 28,

Eisenhower 27

VC scoring — Owens 9, Jacquez 8, Sparks 6, Blackwood 4, Bachman 1.