Northside girls basketball head coach Trayce Coe was a little lonely Friday night at the Hidden Valley gym.
Due to injuries, her Viking basketball squad was reduced to only six participants by tip-off, leaving five on the court and only a single substitute joining her on the bench to tackle the 14-deep Hidden Valley Lady Titans.
Although Northside gave a valiant effort, and twice cut their deficit to three points in the third quarter, the Titan’s numbers were the deciding factor as Hidden Valley pulled away for the 56-45 non-district win.
“We were down to six and three of those were freshmen forced to play,” Coe noted after the game. “Hidden Valley ran us ragged.”
The Titans set the early tone when one of their own freshmen, Drew Freeland, scored the game’s first seven points to help stake Hidden Valley to a 13-8 lead after the first quarter. Freeland, who finished with a game-high 19 points, was slowed when she picked up her third personal foul with 3 minutes left in the first half. The Titans led 29-21 at the break.
Hailey Singleton, another Hidden Valley underclassman, picked up the slack in the second half with pressure defense and finishing with 16 points. Singleton hit a runner at the buzzer to put Hidden Valley up 41-32 after three quarters, and an exhausted Northside team could get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.
“Drew and Hailey both had a great game tonight, Hidden Valley head coach Randy Bush noted. “‘I’d like to see more scoring from the others, but this is only game two. More are stepping up and they showed lots of confidence tonight. Hat’s off to Northside with having only six players and the way they played.”
Seniors Carla Anderson and Taylor Carter led Northside with 13 points each. Eleven of Anderson’s 13 came at the feee throw line.
“It’s early in the season, ” Coe added. “Once we get everyone healthy and in full shape, we’ll be ready for the district run.”
– Bill Turner
