Biggest test for West Holmes against Columbus Northland at Classic IX

  • By: Jenna Polen
  • January 15, 2012
  • 307
                        
Summary: Northland Viking's one-two punch too much for West Holmes to handle at the Classic in the Country IX. The Lady Knights first game at the Classic was presented as a challenge from the beginning. The opponent, Columbus Northland, boast some of the best players in the State, which is shown in their # 10 Division I ranking, and their strong front court. Taking a 39 -29 victory against Lakota West in their first appearance at the Classic VII, the Vikings came back ready to joust the Knights, which is exactly what they did during the Saturday, Jan. 14 game at The Classic in the Country tournament taking a hefty 50-38 victory over the Knights. Returning nine letter winners, the West Holmes strong defense proved not enough to hold back the Viking’s one-two punch of Alexis Peterson and Symone Denham-who has already signed to play ball at Michigan in the winter. The duo scoring 42 of the teams 50 points, were just unstoppable for the Knights defense. “Peterson was especially hard to stop, we put our best defender on her and we didn’t have anyone that could slow her down, we would play up far she would go to the rim, and if we backed off she would put down threes,” commented head coach Lisa Patterson. “We don’t have two DI players on our team so it’s hard to match up with them (Denham and Peterson).” The Knights struggled in the very beginning, going scoreless for the first three minutes, and starting the turnovers early. Including a first play with four offensive rebounds and a scoreless possession, the baskets weren’t dropping for the Knights until an easy layup by six-foot-one inch sophomore Laina Snyder midway through the first quarter. Snyder added a another basket, along with a long shot behind the arc from five-foot-8 inch sophomore Paiten Strother to end the quarter with the Knights down 7-12. “They didn’t out rebound us by much, we got second looks, third looks, and fourth looks but the ball just didn’t get in,” commented Patterson on the second chance points. West Holmes came out stronger in the second, keeping the scoring closer going into half time. With five-foot-7 inch junior Rachelle Morrison dropping two three’s, and Snyder creating a four point play off a rebound foul shot, the ladies brought the score to a close 16-20 margin. But the Vikings quickly responded with an easy two by five-foot-6 inch sophomore Brooklyn Peterson, and a quick buzzer three, to take a 19-27 lead into half time. The third was nothing but (Alexis) Peterson running the game, with no mercy for the Knights. Outscoring West Holmes 13-5, Northland’s Peterson was unstoppable, making nine of the 13 points for the Vikings during the quarter, to leave the Knights a 14-point margin going into the fourth. The fourth quarter proved better for the Knights, and Strother, who put down 10 of the 14 points for West Holmes, along with nine points shot from behind the arc. But Strother and the Knights couldn’t rebound from the third, ending this tough game with a 50-38 Viking victory. “We had a team press us the entire game. That’s going to come into play in tournaments down the trail; a lot of teams don’t put pressure on us. Our guards really had to handle the basketball, they didn’t always, but now they’ve been in that situation where they can refer back to it,” said Patterson. This extended the Knights record at the Classic to 1-8. Playing against some of the toughest teams in Ohio, Patterson and the Knights can only take experience from playing in the Classic, and prepare for tournament time.


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