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Viqueens down Eagleville with textbook 4th

By RICKEY CLARDY ~ Sports Writer
Posted 12/5/22

UNIONVILLE — With the game tied going into the fourth quarter, the Community Viqueens connected on the first basket of the quarter to take the lead and preserved their advantage by controlling …

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Viqueens down Eagleville with textbook 4th

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UNIONVILLE — With the game tied going into the fourth quarter, the Community Viqueens connected on the first basket of the quarter to take the lead and preserved their advantage by controlling the ball and making their free throws down the stretch as the Viqueens defeated the Eagleville Lady Eagles 50-43 in a basketball contest Friday night.
Community (3-3) used three treys from Haley Mitchell to take the lead in the first quarter, but the Lady Eagles used their hot shooting to score the final five points of the quarter and took an 18-13 lead to the second quarter.
In contrast to the first quarter, the Lady Eagles could only manage three points in the second as the Viqueen defense tightened down.
Community only scored eight points of its own, but a basket by Zoey Dixon with three seconds left was enough to tie the game at 21-21 heading into the intermission.
The third quarter fit the definition of a seesaw game as the lead changed hands five times.
The Lady Eagles took their biggest lead at 29-23 with 5:44 left, but the Viqueens fought back.
M.J. Simmons scored eight points while Addison Brothers and Anna Haskins each connected on treys as the game was tied 37-37 heading to the final quarter.
The game took on the form of a chess match early in the quarter as the teams looked to the gain the upper hand.
A basket by Brothers broke the tie, then two-pointers by Simmons and Brothers gave Community a 43-37 lead with 4:20 to play.
After a Lady Eagle basket at the 4:07 mark cut the Community margin to 43-39, the Viqueens took time off the clock by spreading out their offense on their remaining possessions.
Plenty of time elapsed before the Viqueens reached the bonus with less than a minute of play.
The strategy came to fruition as Community completed a perfect 11-11 night at the foul line with seven free throws in the final 51 seconds to take the win over its neighboring rivals.
"We got the lead and we were able to control the game offensively and defensively which is what we want to do," Coach Cody Pierce of the Viqueens said.
"We did a lot of good things tonight. We did a lot of the fundamentals, we boxed out, got some rebounds, slowed them down, and hit some free throws," Pierce added.
Simmons netted 17 points while Mitchell added 13 to pace the Viqueens.
Brinli Bain led the Lady Eagles with 13 points while Eliza McClaran added 12.
Pierce was pleased to see his team's defense hold the Lady Eagles to 43 points.
"We've been playing some games in the 60s and it's nice to score, but we've been trying to get more stops so we can hold teams to under 40 or 50 points," Pierce said.
Community travels to Sycamore for a 6 p.m. game Tuesday night.

Eagleville 18 3 16 6 — 43
Community 13 8 16 13 — 50

Eagleville: Brinli Bain 13, Eliza McClaran 12, Alex Klarer 8, Izzy Sawyer 8, Shelbie Mooneyham, Rylee Warbritton 2, Jules Weese, M. C. Whitt.
Community: M. J. Simmons 17, Haley Mitchell 13, Addison Brothers 9, Zoey Dixon 4, Shelby Cawthon 4, Anna Haskins 3, Jayla Mangrum.
3-Point goals: Eagleville (4): McClaran 2, Bain, Sawyer; Community (5): Mitchell 3, Brothers, Haskins.
Halftime score: Community 21, Eagleville 21.