VIKING JV GIRLS RUN THROUGH COUGARS
By Marc Atwood
marcatwood@aol.com
 
(1/29/08 Chico, CA) The Pleasant Valley girls' junior varsity basketball team used an 18-point second quarter to lead them to a 54-27 win over Foothill Tuesday at Varley Gym.
 
Gina Spini made the Vikings' first basket five seconds into the game. Megan Carracia tied the contest for the Cougars by nailing a shot with 6:12 remaining in the first quarter. Jenna Lane gave Foothill a 4-2 advantage by making a hoop with 3:05 to go in the first. A bucket by Juliana Hoffman with 2:16 left in the period gave PV a 5-4 lead.
 
Nicole Juliana made a basket with 6:55 remaining in the second quarter to bring the Cougars within three points at 9-6. The Vikings went up by five points when Kiley Mansfield made a shot with 5:07 to go in the first half. Spini's free throw with 3:57 left in the half allowed Pleasant Valley to take a 12-11 lead. Mansfield's hoop with 1:40 remaining gave the Vikings a 23-13 lead.
 
A pair of free throws by Mansfield with 6:53 remaining in the third quarter extended PV's advantage to 29-13. Caraccia's bucket with five minutes to go in the period cut Foothill's deficit to 33-15. A three-pointer by Kirsten Sherman with 2:50 left in the third allowed the Cougars to reach 20 points. Mansfield connected on a hoop with 1:55 to go in the period as the Vikings went ahead 36-20.
 
Alexandra Murray made a free throw 17 seconds into the fourth quarter to give Pleasant Valley a 41-20 lead. Sherman hit a bucket 17 seconds later for Foothill's first score of the period. Mansfield made a basket with 4:33 left in the game as the Vikings reached the 50-point mark. Samantha Lloyd hit a three with 2:38 left in the contest as the Cougars were down 54-27.
 
Mansfield scored 16 points and collected six rebounds for Pleasant Valley. Helping the Vikings' cause was Spini with 10 points and Hoffman with eight points and five rebounds. Carracia and Brittany Toft shared top scoring honors for Foothill with six points each.