Lady Rams KO’d 45-40 in Round Two

After defeating the Lady Redskins of St. Johns 65-59 on Friday night in an exciting round one state tournament game, the Lady Rams fell to the Trojans of Valley Christian 45-40 in round two on Saturday afternoon.

The Lady Rams got on the board first when Yvonne “Yo” Nuguid drove to the hoop and found Kayla Valisto in the lane for two off the glass, giving the Lady Rams a 2-0 lead.

The Trojans of Valley Christian came out firing when Sarah Olinger drove to the hoop for the lay up; Shannon Brown popped a jumper in the lane, and forward Kim Wigboldy picked up two in the lane, giving the Trojans an 8-2 lead.

Lady Ram Jessica Schwanbeck drained a bucket in the lane, but the Trojans answered right back when Brown drained a trey from the top of the key, giving the Trojans an 11-4 lead.

The Lady Rams cut into the lead when Schwanbeck was fouled on a lay in attempt, putting her at the line where she converted on both attempts. Next time down she dished to Brittany “Flash” Parks for the lay up, but the Lady Rams trailed 8-11.

The Lady Rams cracked double digits when Nuguid threw a sweet floater over the top defense in the lane to Parks for the lay up. Trojan Brown responded next time down when she pulled the trigger from three point land, giving the Trojans a 16-11 lead.

Lady Ram Valisto grabbed the rebound off the Parks miss and put it back up for two off the glass. The Lady Rams trailed 13-18 at the end of the first quarter.

Trojan Brown knocked down a trey from the top of the key to open up the second quarter, giving the Trojans a 22-13 lead. Lady Ram Valisto picked up another two points off the glass.

The Trojans took a double digit lead when Stephanie Ekstrand had back-to-back buckets down low off the glass. The Trojan lead continued to increase when Wigboldy fired a pass to Shanesha Smith on the fast break lay up.

The Lady Rams celebrated their Friday night victory against St. Johns, but on Saturday, in spite of a great effort, they fell to the Trojans of Valley Christian in round two of state tournament play.

Lady Ram Schwanbeck hit a 10-footer from the baseline off the inbound pass. On the next Lady Ram possession Parks drove to the hoop for the lay up. The Lady Rams trailed 18-32 at the half.

Lady Ram Parks stole the ball and drove strong to the hoop for the lay up. Parks was fouled on the lay up, putting her at line where she converted the old fashioned three-point play. Next time down Valisto had a put back off the Parks miss, but the Lady Rams still trailed 24-34.

The Lady Rams stepped up their defensive intensity in the third quarter, holding the Trojans to three points in the entire quarter. Nuguid knocked down a trey from the wing; still the Lady Rams trailed 30-37 at the end of the third quarter.

The Trojans got on the board first in the fourth when Wigboldy stole the ball and drove the distance for the lay-up. Lady Ram Nuguid responded with a trey from the wing; the Lady Rams trailed 33-39. Defensive stopper Parks picked off a pass and drove the distance for the lay-up. Lady Ram Valisto did all she could to keep the Lady Rams in it when she converted one of two from the line, had a put back off the glass and grabbed a Nuguid three-point attempt to lay it in off the window. The Trojans squeaked by the Lady Rams by a score of 45-40.

Kayla Valisto led the Rams with 16 points, followed by Brittany “Flash” Parks with 11, Yvonne “Yo” Nuguid with 7 and Jessica Schwanbeck with 6.

Stephanie Ekstrand led the Trojans with 15 points, followed by Kim Wigbodly with 11, Shannon Brown with 10, and Shanesha Smith with 4.

The Trojan tandem of Kim Wigboldy and Stephanie Ekstrand put on a rebounding clinic, grabbing 19 and 13 rebounds respectively.

Congratulations to the Lady Rams (24-7, 10-2 in the 2A West) and Coach Jenn Miller on a great season.

Summary 1 2 3 4 Total
Valley Christian 19 15 3 8 45
Maricopa 13 6 11 10 40

Photo by Jeremy Knop