Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
The Valley Lutheran girls’ basketball team played its first eight games of the season on the road. All eight games were victories.
On January 19, the Chargers hosted St. Charles and won 65-34.
A 60-38 Tri Valley West Conference win over Breckenridge was just another typical night for the team.
Valley Lutheran has definitely picked up where it left off a season ago.
The Chargers, coming off a 23-win season and quarterfinals appearance last year, have made it look easy through the first half of the season.
In fact, aside from their 65-61 overtime win over Freeland on December 2, most of their games haven’t even been close.
“The girls are playing unselfish team basketball,” head coach Tom Roekle said. “I wish I could think of something [to improve on] but I really like the way we are progressing.”
The January 12 contest against Breckenridge was lopsided from the start, with the Chargers taking a 24-8 lead after the first and a 38-20 edge at the half.
Samantha Shafer scored 24 points in the win, Sarah Appold netted 13, and Alli Fischer had eight.
“We are getting solid play from everyone,” Roekle said. “But our five starters are definitely leading the way. Appold, Becca Sherting, Shafer, Fischer, and Brandi Bartelt have all accepted their roles exceptionally well.”
Roekle uses the close win over Freeland and also a 50-45 win over Cardinal Mooney Catholic on December 3 as prime examples of his team being able to make another lengthy post-season run.
“The girls seems to seize the opportunity in big situations,” Roekle said. “With the tournament experience that we have, it can only be a positive as we approach March… We’d like to win every game we play and continue to develop life-long relationships.”