Pleasant went to River Valley for a Mid Ohio Athletic Conference girls basketball game on Jan. 8. Here's how it turned out.
CALEDONIA — There was the Pleasant girls basketball team before it went to Kentucky over the holiday break, and there is the team that returned.
A month ago River Valley knocked off Pleasant on a Gracie Beechum buzzer-beater. On Jan. 8, the Spartans never let it get that close in a 64-30 victory in the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference.
"We had some really good team bonding and played some really, really good competition, very physical," Pleasant coach Kerriann Pratt said of their trip to the Lady Invitational of the South in Bowling Green, Kentucky. "The schools down there are county schools so it would be like all of us combining and being one, so it’s the best of the best on the girls basketball team. It was really good competition, and it was good for the girls to see a different type of basketball."
The Spartans went 1-2 on the trip south, but have won three straight since coming back to Ohio.
"After we got beat by Columbus Academy (on Nov. 29), we went back to the drawing board. I said we’re going to really mentally prepare for February," Pratt said.
The Spartans took a 10-0 lead in the first two minutes at River Valley. Ninety seconds later it was 16-0, then midway through the first period, the lead expanded to 20-0 before RV's Layla Auld ended the run. The Vikings never recovered.
"Give them credit. We gave them open shots, and they made them," RV coach Tim Chiles said. "We just could never come back from it. Their press bothered us. We had a ton of turnovers. I don’t know if they missed any shots in the first three minutes of the game. It seemed like every time they got a look they made it."
Pleasant led 43-15 at halftime and there was a running clock in the second half.
"We’ve got some injuries right now and a couple sick, those kind of things, but that hits every team this time of year," Pratt said. "We’ve got to work through it and try to find some different rotations. I think we’re jelling together pretty well right now. We’re looking forward. It’s was just a good night for us."
Brooklin Davis made 4 of 8 from the 3-point arc and 5 of 11 inside it, adding 7 of 9 free throws for a game-high 29 points for Pleasant (9-5, 6-2). Mary Aurgigemma backed her with 14 points and Annie Green added nine points. They commited just nine turnovers, while forcing 22 from RV.
The Vikings (4-7, 3-3) got 14 points from Gracie Beechum, but no one else scored more than six points.
RV doesn't have time to feel bad for itself. In less than 48 hours, it is hosting its other rival Marion Harding.
"We’re going to get back to work tomorrow and focus on our next one and go from there," Chiles said.
419-610-0998
X @McMotorsport
Instagram @rob_mccurdy_star
This article originally appeared on Marion Star: Hot shooting Pleasant faces rival River Valley in girls basketball
Category: General Sports
