Spring Valley’s Briana Robinson draws the contact against Hillcrest’s Courtney Fiddle. The Spring Valley Lady Vikings advance to the third round of the playoffs with a 71–29 victory over the Hillcrest Rams Friday, February 19. Both teams started slow, but Spring Valley offered up the first points of the game with 5:30 left in the first quarter. Then, the Lady Vikings controlled the game to the end. Xylina McDaniel led the Vikings with 20 points. Asia Dozier chipped in 14.

Spring Valley opened with an 8–2 lead early on, following baskets from Dozier, McDaniel, and Savonia Bryan. Sierra Simpson’s basket for Hillcrest made the score 8–4, but a three–pointer from Brianna Robinson put Spring Valley ahead 11–4.

Later in the first quarter, a basket from Shaquita Walker gave the Lady Vikings their largest lead of quarter at eight. Brittany Washington answered with a bucket, and then Simpson hit a buzzer beater to trim the Spring Valley lead to 13–9 at the end of the quarter.

Spring Valley’s Savonia Bryan drives in for a lay up against Hillcrest’s Alexis Peterson. Photos by Paulene Cruse The second quarter saw the Lady Vikings pull away. McDaniel scored the first six points for Spring Valley to open up a 19–11 lead. A bucket and foul shot from Bryan extended the lead to double figures at 22–11. Hillcrest answered with a bucket from Simpson, but Spring Valley only piled on more with buckets from McDaniel and Briana Robinson making the score 26–13.

Dez’rae Spencer’s bucket on the next possession was Hillcrest’s last points of the quarter, as Spring Valley scored the final 14 points to take a 40–15 lead into halftime.

Spring Valley and Hillcrest traded baskets in the third quarter. McDaniel opened with a basket, answered with a free throw from Alexis Peterson. On the next possession, Dozier’s basket gave Spring Valley a 44–18 lead only to be answered with a basket from Courtney Friddle. On the following possession, McDaniel scored two more points. Peterson then responded for Hill- crest with her first bucket of the quarter. Two consecutive buckets from Walker pushed the lead to 31. That was the beginning of an 11–4 run by the Lady Vikings to end the quarter with a 57–24 lead.

McDaniel began the fourth quarter with back–to–back baskets to widen the score to 61–24. A free throw from Robinson and a bucket from Bryan gave Spring Valley a 64–26 advantage and offered Coach Long a chance to put in the reserves.

The Lady Vikings ended with a 7–3 run to cruise to a 71–29 win.