Varsity Lady Soldiers show balanced attacks; winning 2 of 3 games last week
</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[The Lady Soldiers had a busy and productive week as they won 2 of 3 Varsity games and also won the JV contest that was played. First up this week was a contest on Tuesday as the team traveled to Centralia to play Christ Our Rock. The first half saw the two teams play very close. In the second half, the Soldiers took control thanks to the inside play of Amanda Hipp and the outside shooting of Linley Mayer. The final score was Soldiers, 34 and Christ Our Rock, 25. Scoring for the Soldiers was Linley with 16 and Amanda with 14. Rounding out the scoring was Diane Gonzalez with 3 and Suzie Holtgrefe with 1.
On Wednesday, the Soldiers hosted Dupo, playing a JV and Varsity contest. The JV game was a defensive struggle dominated by the inside play of Amanda Hipp. The final score was Soldiers, 19, and Dupo, 12. Scoring for the Soldiers was Amanda, 14, Kaya Manthey, 3, and Suzi Holtgrefe, 2. Amanda and Kaya controlled the game inside giving Dupo no points close to the basket and dominating the boards. The Varsity game was just the opposite as Dupo controlled the game from the beginning and posted a 46-29 win. Scoring for the Soldiers was a Linley Mayer, 19, Amanda Hipp, 7, Suzi Holtgrefe, 2, and Kaya Manthey, 1.
Friday saw the Soldiers bust Trinity-Carbondale in a homecoming Varsity game. The Lady Soldiers played their most complete game of the year posting a 45-31 win. The inside play of Amanda Hipp, Naomi Mehring, and Kaya Manthey, the timely outside shooting of Linley Mayer and Diane Gonzalez led to a very balanced attack. Valuable playing time was also received from Samantha Stewert. Leading the scoring for the team was Linley Mayer with 16, Amanda Hipp with 12, and Diane Gonzalez, 9, and Naomi Mehring, 8. This game also saw Amanda Hipp get 10 rebounds and add to her team lead. As a junior, she also holds the school record with 409. Amanda has been a Varsity starter since she was a freshman. She is always playing great defense and improving her offensive game each year. Also leading her team in steals helps to make Amanda a defensive standout.
Going 3-1 for the week saw the Varsity even its record at 2 and 2 while the JV has won the only game it has played so far. The schedule this week will see the Soldiers on the road Monday at Marissa, host Egyptian on Tuesday, host Christ Our Rock on Thursday, and travel to Carbondale on Saturday for an afternoon game.