After trudging through nine games last season before finally nabbing that elusive first win, the Parkview Lady Vikings came up with their first victory of the 2015-16 campaign on Thursday after dropping their first eight – thanks to a 35-16 home triumph over struggling Joplin.
For the second straight year, head coach Keri Nichols knew it was only a matter of time before her squad's undying drive and effort finally paid off.
“It feels good to actually have a reward for working hard,” Nichols said after the win. “No matter what has happened this season, these kids have come in and worked really hard every day with the belief that they were doing things to get better.”
That improvement showed in the form of a relentless defensive attack which ultimately left the Lady Eagles, who have been forced to play without four of their starters for varying reasons, scoreless after the first period of play and helped Parkview (1-8) boast a 10-0 advantage.
Joplin (1-9) would finally make a dent on the scoreboard when junior forward Jada Reed notched a free-throw in the opening minute of the second quarter, but the Lady Vikings would add six more points to stretch the lead to 16-1 at the period's 4:11 mark.
A baseline jumper by Reed with four minutes to go until halftime finally gave Joplin its first field-goal of the game, cutting the deficit to 13.
Junior Shelby Beaver, who is arguably the biggest offensive presence on the court for the Lady Eagles, picked up two early fouls in the game – leading to extended time on the bench for the 5-foot-10 forward and no definitive scorers for a young Joplin team.
“When Shelby Beaver goes out of the game, we're a much different team,” said Joplin head coach Jeff Williams. “When she's in, just her presence sometimes makes a big difference for us.”
With Beaver acting as a spectator and thus giving Parkview a size advantage that was most apparent on the boards, the door opened wide for Parkview to gain such a lopsided edge in the scoring column.
“I think the thing that probably was the difference maker was that we didn't give a whole lot of second shots there at the beginning,” Nichols said. “We rebounded really hard and we were getting second and third shots. I kind of felt like that was the key.”
Most of those rebounds came from freshman Paiton Acord, who used her 5-foot-8 frame to bag another game in which she collected at least ten boards.
“When your point guard is getting double-digit rebounds, that's a good thing for your team,” said Nichols of Acord.
Acord also posted a game-high nine points, further solidifying herself as one of the standout freshmen in the area after coming up just one point shy of recording a double-double.
“I just try to keep everybody's spirits up and try to get everybody open so they can take shots as well,” said Acord.
After Parkview held a 27-9 lead after three quarters, the Lady Eagles, with Beavers back into the game, put together a 7-0 run capped by a Diane Wagler and-1 to cut the lead to eleven – sending the Joplin bench into momentary jubilation after such a tumultuous first half.
“I think the girls had a good time playing in the second half,” added Williams. “That's what I want them to do as a high school athlete in basketball, enjoy the ride.”
In the end, the hole was too deep for the Lady Eagles to climb out of as Parkview held the road team scoreless the rest of the way.
Although the win comes against a Joplin team that's simply a work in progress, it doesn't take anything away for Nichols, who sees the victory as a potential springboard for further success this year.
“Finally, I feel like we turned the corner on a couple of things today,” Nichols said. “I think everybody feels pretty good about it.”
Both teams are back in action on Monday as Parkview travels to play Central, while Joplin continues Ozark Conference play at Rolla.
Box Score
Joplin – 0 3 6 7 – 16
Parkview – 10 10 7 8 – 35
Joplin – Diane Wagler 5, Jessica Zengel 4, Jada Reed 3, Brittany Dutton 2, Shelby Beaver 2
Parkview – Paiton Acord 9, Ty Stiles 8, Aaliyah Buckley 7, CJ Stiles 4, Kara Klein 3, Bethany Harris 2, Kristen Klein 2
