By Jacob Merideth
Contributor
ASHVILLE — What started as a decent night for host Teays Valley on Thursday took a dramatic turn for the worse over the final three quarters.
The Vikings were unable to handle the pressure employed by Fairfield Union and turned the basketball over 20 times in a 71-51 loss.
“Fairfield Union sped the game up on us a bit in the second quarter with its pressure, and we couldn’t handle it,’ Teays Valley coach Trevor Younkin said.
The setback drops the Vikings (13-4, 9-2) back into a first-place tie with Bloom-Carroll (11-6, 8-2) in the Mid-State League Buckeye Division.
Abby Tier knocked down a trio of three-pointers in the first quarter, Kennedy Younkin scored on a pair of field goals and Gabrielle Watkins connected on a triple of her own, helping the Vikings to a 17-13 lead.
Fairfield Union (6-8, 5-6) made its move over the next two quarters, outscoring the Vikings 38-18 to completely change the complexion of the game.
Nicole Terry scored seven of her game-high 26 points in the second quarter and Christian Thompson added six to help the Falcons take a 34-28 lead into halftime.
Teays Valley was held to just one field goal in the third quarter, a three-pointer by Alyssa Horsley, and four free throws as Fairfield Union extended its lead to 51-35.
“It was just one of those nights where nothing was really clicking and our chemistry was off,” Younkin said.
Elly Lewis knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the quarter and Thompson added two field goals.
The Falcons put four players into double figures. Thompson and Isabella Neal followed Terry with 12 points apiece, and Lewis contributed 11.
Tier led the way for the Vikings with 16 points, Horsley and Watkins accounted for 10 points apiece and Younkin scored eight points and pulled down 10 rebounds.
The Vikings are back in action on Friday, hosting Division III top-ranked Worthington Christian (15-1) in a non-league game.
Fairfield Union 71,
Teays Valley 51
FAIRFIELD UNION — Averey Cottrill 1-0-3, Elly Lewis 4-0-11, Christian Thompson 6-0-12, Isabella Neal 5-1-12, Nicole Terry 8-8-26, Maycee Martindill 3-0-7. Three-point goals — Lewis (3), Cottrill, Neal, Terry (2) and Martindill. Total — 27-47 9-13 71.
TEAYS VALLEY — Abby Tier 5-3-16, Sydney Manring 0-2-2, Kayla Cline 2-0-5, Kennedy Younkin 3-2-8, Alyssa Horsley 4-0-10, Gabrielle Watkins 4-1-10. Three-point goals — Tier (3), Horsley (2), Watkins and Cline. Total — 18-36 8-16 51.
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
Fairfield Union 13 21 17 20 71
Teays Valley 17 11 7 16 51
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