12/30/2009 2:07:00 PM Tough tournament for Lady Vikings Place fourth in consolation bracket
Ryan Williams/WGCN
No. 24. Paige Parenteau, steals the ball during the Lady Vikings' win against Chino Valley at Williams High School Dec. 16.
Ryan Williams/WGCN
The Lady Vikings celebrate their win against Chino Valley Dec. 16 prior to a disappointing finish at the Winslow Tournament Dec. 17-19.
WILLIAMS - The Williams High School Lady Vikings basketball team has had an up and down first half of the season. The girls were able to add two wins to their season record against Grand Canyon and Chino Valley before a disappointing finish in the Winslow Holiday Tournament.
The Lady Vikes took on Grand Canyon in an away game Dec. 15. Head Coach Philip Echeverria said the girls faced a much different team than the Grand Canyon team they faced during the Williams tournament in early December.
"Grand Canyon was a much improved basketball team and played us tough," he said.
In a game that came down to the wire, the Lady Vikes were able to post a 38-37 win against Grand Canyon before facing off against Chino Valley at home Dec. 16.
Echeverria said the girls came out ready to play against Chino Valley with a strong offense and defense.
"We came out and played a good half of basketball and blew them out of the water in the first half," he said.
The Lady Vikes ended the half up 33-15, winning the game handily with a score of 58-35 at the final buzzer.
"I got some kids that play JV for us in there to get some varsity experience," Echeverria said. "That helps out the program when you have the opportunity to do that."
After the Chino Valley game, the Lady Vikes were 6-3 overall and, more importantly, 3-1 in power point games. The Vike's power point record determines whether they will play in the state tournament at the end of the season as well as what seed they enter the tournament should they qualify.
Following the wins, the Lady Vikings traveled to their second tournament of the year in Winslow Dec. 17. The girls drew Tuba City for their first game. Echeverria said the girls never quite got into a rhythm.
"We came out and played an okay first half," he said. "It was 20-24 at half. Then Tuba City just blew us out of the water in the second half."
The Lady Vikes ended up losing to Tuba City 33-51, placing them in the consolation bracket of the tournament where they next faced Payson.
"We came out strong against Payson," Echeverria said. "We had a good second quarter and good fourth quarter."
The Lady Vikes eventually prevailed, winning 51-35, placing them in the semi-final game of the consolation bracket against Snowflake.
"Once again we played a good half," Echeverria said. "We have one or two bad quarters a game and that's pretty consistent right now. We're struggling to put a full game together."
The girls were up 31-29 at half time. After the break, the Lady Vikes only managed to put four points on the board against a tough Snowflake defense, eventually losing 51-65.
The loss placed the Lady Vikings in the third/fourth place game against Tuba City/Grey Hills, a 2A team the girls will face later in the regular season.
Echeverria said the Lady Vikings fell apart after the first quarter.
"They came out hot in the first half and we kind of held on to them in the first quarter and then they just slowly pulled away," he said. "I think fatigue was a little bit of a factor and defensively we weren't doing a very good job. They ended up handing us our worst loss of the year."
The Lady Vikings ended their tournament with a 54-74 loss, placing them in fourth place in the consolation bracket. Overall, the girls are now 7-5 on the season and still 3-1 in power point games.
"There are three key things that we need to improve upon," Echeverria said. "That's going to be rebounding, shooting and taking care of the basketball. We really struggle with turnovers and shooting from the outside and then second chance points. Most of the time we get out rebounded."
Echeverria went on to say that practice time has been limited due to the recent blizzard that dropped over two feet of snow in the region.
"We haven't had an opportunity to get on the floor and cover some basic elements that need to be in place," he said. "I have high expectations for the girls. I was a little disappointed in the way we played some of the teams at the tournament. It's a learning curve but we've got to start preparing and getting ready for the state playoffs."
The Lady Vikings plan to practice through the Christmas break before starting the second half of the season with a difficult three game week. They take on Wickenburg at home Jan. 5 at 5:30 p.m., travel to Ash Fork Jan. 7 and end the week taking on Valley-Sanders at U.S. Airways Arena in the Valley.
