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Valley Center Middle School girls sweep Derby North
By The News staff
Last Updated: December 07, 2017

The Valley Center Middle School girls basketball teams combined for a 5-7 record to begin the season.  

The Hornets swept Derby North at home Dec. 4, with three teams nabbing its first win of the season. At Hutchinson Nov. 30, Valley's lone winner was the eighth-grade “B" team. It was a rough start to the season Nov. 28, as the Hornets were gracious hosts by losing all four games to Salina South.

Eighth grade

The “A" team (1-2) built a seven-point lead after the first quarter against Derby North and held on to win 29-25.

“The girls did a great job in our full-court press the entire game," coach Laura Jordan said. “Derby North has one very talented, tall basketball player, but with the pressure, their other players struggled and made turnovers." 

Halle Brittain shot lights, scoring 21 points. She hit six 3-pointers, four of them in the first quarter to give Valley a 14-7 lead. Cheyenne Blackwood had four points and played strong defense on Derby's post. Kimberly Kirk and Heidi Meyer each scored two.

“I continue to be happy with all the effort by each player, and girls are beginning to score more baskets getting some tension hopefully off Halle," Jordan said.

Despite 19 points from Brittain, the Hornets lost 29-20 at Hutchinson. Valley stayed close the first half, but the Salthawks took control in the third quarter.

“The girls give so much effort, which led us to getting within four points of Hutchinson in the second half," Jordan said. “We struggled with scoring, except for Halle Brittain. … I need to work harder on getting the other girls more prepared to shoot, especially once penetration happens and the defense collapses."

Blackwood scored Valley's other point.

Against Salina South, Valley trailed 9-0 after the first quarter and never recovered in a 30-13 loss.

Jordan said the girls played hard and had some good things happen from their press, but struggled offensively.

“Salina South also did a great job of getting down the floor and attacking while we were still in the process of getting back defensively," she said. “This led to several opportunities for them."

Brittain led the Hornets with 10 points. Meyer had two, and Kirk scored one.

Outscoring Derby North  8-1 in the second quarter, the “B" team eased to a 25-15 victory and improved to 2-1.

“Ella Wiechman did a solid job handling the ball for us tonight," coach Melissa Fehrenbach said. “Our defense continues to improve, and girls are beginning to run our systems better. Several girls scored tonight, which is always fun to have." 

The Hornets were led by Wiechman with eight points. Annalyn Ricker scored six, Jadyn Winters four, Kaylee Henderson three, and Alaina Waters and Aidaly Rascon had two each.

Down one at halftime, Valley outscored Hutchinson 14-5 in the second half and went on to win 17-9.

“The girls played good defense throughout the first half, but struggled to score," Fehrenbach said. “In the second half, they turned up the intensity. Annalyn Ricker had a few great fast breaks that helped us pull away and keep the lead toward the end of the game."  

Ricker was Valley's leading scorer with seven points. Henderson and Amelai Farney each had three, while Wiechman and Rascon had two apiece.

First-game mistakes doomed the Hornets in a 25-15 loss to Salina South.

“Most of the girls did not run our secondary or man offense well, and we struggled with overplaying, which caused Salina South to attack the basket for easy shots," Fehrenbach said.

Valley made a run in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Cougars 10-2. But by then, it was too little, too late.

The Hornets had balanced scoring with Rascon tossing in six and Anna Oliverson four. Wiechman and Henderson each scored two and Waters added one.

Seventh grade

In a game as close as the final score indicated, Valley's “A" team beat Derby North, 26-21, and improved to 1-2.  

“Scoring was shared across the board tonight, with Maci George leading the team with nine points," coach Amy Doty said. “Mya Thompson attacked the boards by grabbing eight rebounds. We need to cut the number of turnovers down, get organized and run our plays. This will help get things rolling once we enter league play."  

Other scorers included Ali Coash with eight and Kelsie Kinniburgh three, while Mykah Klumpp, Mya Thompson and Kaitlyn Fetty each scored two.

Despite a 31-26 lead going into the fourth quarter, Valley lost at Hutchinson 41-38.

“It was a nail-biter tonight," Doty said. “We played very well all the way around. 

Hutchinson had a good point guard that our guards had their hands full with. … I definitely saw a lot of improvement from our first game to tonight."

Kinniburgh paced the Hornets with 16 points and nine rebounds. Thompson had 13 points, George seven and Fetty two. Coash recorded five steals for the Hornets. 

Valley led Salina South 11-9 after the first quarter but couldn't sustain the advantage and lost 37-24.

Doty said the Hornets lost to a good Salina South team. It didn't help that one Valley's best players got into early foul trouble.

“We had first-game jitters with way too many turnovers," she said. “We need to have more patience and get ourselves organized. I had some good hustle out of players with many of them getting on the floor for balls. There is a lot of potential with this group, and they will only keep growing."

Coash and Kinniburgh each scored six points. George added five, Thompson four, Klumpp two and Fetty one.

A 12-2 second quarter set the tone for the “B" team's 26-10 win over Derby North. The Hornets are now 1-2 on the season

“The girls had a successful night of basketball," coach JoAnn Owens said. “Most of the girls got to score some points to attribute to the win. Savinnah Bretton and Sophia Gordon had some great rebounding for the team. Defensive steals from Rylin Ramsay, Taylor Bruckner and Rachel Edwards lead to several fast breaks. It was all around a great team effort."

Gordon and Bretton each scored seven points, and Ramsay had five. Scoring two points each were Edwards, Addie Fitch, Kennedy Johnson and Ashlyn Nelson.

At Hutchinson, Valley was up six after the first quarter and one at halftime. Unfortunately, the Salthawks controlled the second half and won 24-13.

“The girls played with a lot of fight and heart," Owens said. “Defense was solid, and the girls caused Hutchinson to turn over the ball many times. … We struggled shooting and missed several layups causing our loss.'  

Owens commented that Bruckner (five points) and Emma Taylor (two points) provided energy for Valley Center.

Ramsay scored four points, while Fitch and Nelson each scored one.

The Hornets fell behind early and couldn't climb back into the game, losing 22-3 to Salina South.

“The girls played hard until the end, but just didn't run our offensive and defensive sets well," Owens said. “Post players Sophie Gordon … and Kennedy Johnson …  played tough. I was pleased with their efforts tonight inside."

Johnson scored two points and Gordon one.






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