West girls trip Vikings

By KEN CLARK

The Capital-Journal

Although hampered by a slow start, the Topeka West Chargers picked up the pace a notch Monday night and edged by Seaman, 62-47, at Topeka West.

The Vikings took control of the court early in the game and led the Chargers by seven at the end of the first quarter before the more experienced Chargers, led by six returning seniors, began narrowing the spread.

Although his team's slow start was cause for concern, it didn't give Charger coach Mike Goehring reason to panic.

"We got off to a slow start due to the fact we didn't go to the boards hard," Goehring said. "We forgot our defensive assignments and when you do that, you're going to get into a hole quick. We have good character, and the seniors know they're going to have to dig themselves out when they get into a hole.

"So I really didn't panic. I was a little dissappointed in the way we got started.

"We didn't initially take the ball and run; instead, we were going to take what they gave us," Goehring said.

Led by high scorer Rebekah Mueller's 14 points and Lindsey Gatewood's 8 points, Seaman was able to keep pace with the Chargers throughout much of the first half and trailed by four at the intermission. But the inexperienced Vikings were no match for the Chargers down the stretch.

Ariana Scales led the Chargers with 24 points, followed by Tisharria Huggins with 12. Free throws proved to be the key to the game, with the Chargers hitting 10 of 11 in the final period.

"We started out ready to play and put some pressure on them, but they kept their composure," Viking coach Steve Alexander said. "I think this a learning experience for us. We played some intense basketball for four quarters. There were times when we matched their intensity and times when we didn't."

Seaman (1-1) 15 12 19 11 --- 47Topeak West (2-0) 10 21 12 19 --- 62 Seaman --- Mueller 4 6-8 14, Gatewood 3 2-5 8, Leiker 1 2-2 7, Lang 1 4-4 6, McDaniel 3 6, Barnaby 2-2 2, Loomis 1 2, Hainline 1 2.

Topeka West --- Scales 6 6-8 24, Huggins 5 2-2 12, Bahner 4 2-2 10, Davis 2 2-2 6, Molander 2 4, Gleason 1 0-1 2.

3-point goals --- West ---Scales (2); Seaman --- Leiker (1).

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