Ark Valley News - Hornets pull away in third to win

Ellie Shank shoots from inside Dec. 1 at Eisenhower. The Hornets won 43-35.

Hornets pull away in third to win
By Randy Fisher
Last Updated: December 07, 2017

A loud cheer erupted from the Valley Center High School girls locker room when coach Trent Preheim and his staff entered following a season-opening 43-35 win Dec. 1 at Eisenhower. When asked if the cheer was for him, Preheim laughed and said, “It ain't me."

“They like winning," he continued. “They are a competitive group. They really hate to lose. Probably hate to lose more than they like winning."

As could be expected in the first game of the year, both teams got off to a slow start and committed a plethora of turnovers. Fortunately for Valley Center, it was able to right the ship first.

“We knew we weren't going to be great offensively tonight," Preheim said. “We're trying to learn new things, new roles with new people. We tried to hang our hat on our defense."

When Zayda Perez entered the game early in the first quarter, Valley's energy level noticeably picked up at both ends of the court. Perez soon scored Valley's first bucket of the season and sparked a ball-hawking press that harassed the Tigers all game long.

Down 9-7 after the first quarter, the Hornets tied the game at 9. The Tigers went back on top 11-9 with two free throws that would be their last points of the quarter.

Taylor Rowley hit one from the stripe to put the Hornets up for good, 12-11. After an Eisenhower turnover, Kassie Kinniburgh hit a jumper from the lane to make it 14-11. She hit later in the quarter for a 16-11 lead, which was the score at halftime.

In the third quarter, the Tigers pulled to within three, 20-17, before the Hornets put this one away. Five points from Perez pushed the lead to 25-17. Ellie Shank scored five more for a double-digit lead, 32-21, after three quarters.

“In the third quarter, we got on a little bit of a run with our defense," Preheim said. “Got some easy shots and made some big shots when it was necessary."

Valley's lead twice peaked at 13 in the fourth quarter. A late Eisenhower run cut the deficit to the final score, 43-35.

In her first varsity start, the sophomore Kinniburgh tossed in six points. This included two crucial baskets in the second quarter that established Valley's five-point halftime margin.

“I was nervous to start," she said. “We played really good, I thought. … We communicated and ran our offense and defense like we're supposed to."

“I thought she was really good working inside," Preheim said of Kinniburgh. “She gave us an inside defensive presence so when they drove, we really weren't giving up a lot of easy stuff."

Perez led all scorers with 16 points. Shank added 10 and Rowley 9.

The Hornets play this weekend in the Kingman Eagle Classic. They take on Sterling Dec. 7 and Kingman, No. 1 in Class 3A, on Dec. 8. Each game starts at 6:30 p.m. Valley's game Dec. 9 will depend upon how they do in their first two games. The field includes Haven (No. 5 in 3A), Conway Springs (No. 10 in 3A) and Sunrise Christian. All games are in Kingman.

Valley Center's first home game will be Dec. 12 against Newton.

JV wins — Valley broke the game open in the fourth quarter and rolled to a 53-26 victory. The Hornets led 28-24 after three quarters but outscored Eisenhower 24-2 in the final frame. Alyssa Turner led Valley with 11 points, and Aysia Arrowood tossed in nine.

C team falls — A bad fourth quarter doomed Valley to a 54-25 loss. With the Hornets down nine at halftime, the Tigers outscored them 28-8 in the second half for the win. Lindsey Isham scored six points to lead Valley's balanced attack.

Valley Center 43, Eisenhower 35

VC 7 9 16 11 — 43

EIS 9 2 10 14 — 35

Valley Center — Perez 16, Shank 10, Rowley 9, Kinniburgh 6, Arrowood 2.

Eisenhower — Nicholson 9, Omli 8, Denning 6, Carter 5, Brungardt 4, Ryan 3.

JV

Valley Center 53, Eisenhower 26

VC scoring — Turner 11, Arrowood 9, Schmelzle 7, Cabral 7, Ranzau 6, Dawson 4, Meyer 3, Claussen 3, Wolf 3.

C team

Eisenhower 54, Valley Center 25

VC scoring — Isham 6, Ostrom 5, Niedens 4, Taylor 4, Claussen 4, Dawson 3, Wolf 2.