Lady Eagles take second at Marion

By Mike McGinnis

After losing their first two games of the Marion Invitational Tournament, the Vienna High School girl’s basketball team won their next two contests to finish in second place with a 2-2 record. Senior Carley Childress and junior Maranda Chance were named to the all-tournament team.  Vienna plays again next Monday (Nov. 26) at Massac County with tip-off set for 6:15 p.m.

The Lady Eagles lost their second round tournament game on Tuesday of last week to Benton, by the score of 58-53. The Rangerettes led 16-14 after the first quarter. A free throw by Carley Childress to open the second period got Vienna within 16-15, but from there, a nearly four minute dry spell by the Lady Eagles helped Benton push its lead to 26-19 at the half.  Vienna started to warm up in the third quarter, narrowing the gap to 29-27 on a three-pointer by Maranda Chance. Another three by Childress, who scored 14 of her game high 24 points in the frame, gave the Lady Eagles a 32-31 lead at the 3:19 mark. Vienna held a 41-40 edge going into the final period. Two free throws by Chance put the Lady Eagles ahead 45-42 with 6:52 left in the game.  Benton rallied to tie it at 49-49 with two minutes to play.  The Rangerettes took a 53-50 lead one minute later, but Vienna again came back to even it at 53-53 on a free throw by Sami McKibben and two more by Childress.  However, Benton ended the game with a 5-0 run to make the final margin. Morgan Corn led Benton with 12 points.

Scoring for Vienna: Childress-24; Chance-20; Ross-4; Edwards-2; Keeling-2; McKibben-1.

Last Thursday, the Lady Eagles picked up their first win of the season as they beat Carterville 53-41 in third round tournament action. The score was tied 17-17 at halftime. The Lady Lions went ahead 28-22 with 2:37 left in the third quarter, but from there, Vienna closed out the period with a 9-2 run to take a 31-30 lead going into the fourth quarter. The Lady Eagles opened the final frame with an 8-0 spurt on a lay-up by Maranda Chance, a three-point play by Carley Childress, a free throw by Sami McKibben, and a lay-up by Childress, giving Vienna a 39-30 lead at the 5:07 mark. Carterville answered with a 5-0 run to close the gap to 39-35.  Over the next three minutes Vienna’s press led to some Carterville turnovers and the Lady Eagles took advantage as they reeled off 12 straight points, increasing their lead to 51-35 and taking control of the game.  Carley Childress led the Lady Eagles in scoring with 26 points.

Scoring for Vienna: Childress-26; Chance-8; Keeling-5; Edwards-4; McKibben-4; Rutherford-4; Ross-2.

Vienna finished tournament play with a 54-45 win over Herrin on Saturday.  The Lady Eagles led 11-8 after the first quarter. They extended their lead to 16-10 early in the second period before Herrin came back to tie it up 23-23 at the half. A three-pointer by the Lady Tigers put them ahead 34-32 with 3:05 left in the third period. Less than a minute later, a free throw by Knikki Keeling and lay-up by Cady Ross gave Vienna a 35-34 lead. Keeling then closed out the frame with two short jumpers to push the Lady Eagles lead to 39-34 heading into the fourth quarter.  Herrin narrowed the gap to 41-38 at the 6:12 mark before a lay-up by Keeling made it 43-38. The Lady Eagles then took control with two lay-ups by Carley Childress and another by Maranda Chance to boost their lead to 49-39. With less than a minute to play, the Lady Tigers got within 51-45, but Vienna held on for the win. Carley Childress led four Lady Eagles in double figures with 18 points, while Abby Horn had 16 points to lead Herrin.

Scoring for Vienna: Childress-18; Chance-13; Ross-11; Keeling-10; Edwards-2.