WATERLOO WINS MVAC
The Waterloo Lady Vikings have been a team with an interesting story to the season. Facing pre-season adversity, that saw The Lady Vikings drop their opening game 58-46 to Alliance.
That loss was back on November 22nd, 2021. Since Waterloo stepped off that court suffering an opening game loss, they never looked back.
The journey to The Lady Vikings first conference title in fifteen years was met with questions and doubts. Could Waterloo contend with the powerhouses of The MVAC Scarlet Tier?
From McDonald, to Western Reserve, to Jackson Milton and Springfield; The Lady Viking answered all those questions, gaining at least one victory from each of the conference teams.
On Monday night, the latest challenge for Waterloo? A second matchup with the ever-talented Springfield Lady Tigers.
The first game with Springfield back on January 10th saw The Lady Vikings come out of New Middletown victorious 48-42.
Springfield came in with a phenomenal defensive gameplan, one that centered around shutting down driving lanes.
It was a defensive chess match between Coach Matisi and Coach Longanecker, as both teams forced plenty of turnovers. Enough to make every offensive possession feel much more valuable for both teams.
Waterloo took the lead in the first quarter and held it throughout a defensive grudge match in the first half, as Springfield closed the Waterloo lead down to 4 points at the half.
Springfield’s Jacey Mullen led The Lady Tigers throughout the game, scoring a team high 14 points on the night to make up over a third of the team’s offense.
Kaira English locked things down defensively for Waterloo. Coming up with 6 steals to go along with 9 points on the night.
However, in the second half, it was the play of Rose Couts that shined brightest. Coming up with some big offensive buckets down the stretch. She scored 12 points and secured 9 rebounds, with a majority of both happening after halftime. Her clutch play earned her the nights Player of the Game.
Both teams exchanged buckets in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, and with Waterloo leading it 34-31, Springfield had the ball for the last possession and a chance to tie it up.
Maddie Lesnak was tasked with taking that shot, and with ice in her veins she knocked it down; however, basketball is a game of inches, and Lesnaks foot was a mere inches inside the three-point arc on Monday night.
#7 Lady Vikings get the win 34-33 over #9 Springfield, earning them a share of The MVAC Scarlet Championship, leaving Waterloo needing just one more win to have the crown outright.
The 15 year drought is over in Atwater, and it was done with eight girls and a goal.
Springfield (16-4) will now look to host LaBrae (10-10) on Thursday, February 10th.
Waterloo (16-1) looks to secure the outright title on the road against Jackson Milton (10-8) on Wednesday, February 9th.
*Contributed By YSN’s Ty Bartell.
