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Williams Lady Vikings win one, lose three at Camp Verde Tournament

Plagued by missing players and offensive struggles, the Williams Lady Vikings basketball team went 1-3 in the Camp Verde Tournament Dec. 27 and 28.

The Lady Vikes were down three players who had family obligations and one player who was sick entering the tournament.

Williams opened play on Dec. 27 with a 54-28 loss against Joy Christian. Head coach Phillip Echeverria said the Lady Vikes lacked aggressiveness on offense in the game.

"I think most teams are pressing and everything, and normally we handle the press okay, but we had quite a few turnovers in that game that led to quick points down in their half," Echeverria said.

In their second game of the tournament, the Lady Vikes took on Mayer for the third time this season. Williams won a scrimmage against Mayer on Nov. 21 and won a game in the Dec. 5 Williams Holiday Tournament with a score of 47-19.

In the Camp Verde tournament, Mayer came out on top with a final score of 30-28. Echeverria said the Lady Vikes had a slow start but came alive four minutes into the fourth quarter.

"The girls kind of turned it on and started getting aggressive with good man-to-man defense and taking the ball to the basket," he said.

The Lady Vikes trailed about 10 points at the start of the final quarter. However, the team rallied to score 16 points in the fourth quarter, led by Miranda Velazco who scored 12.

With about four seconds left in the game, Williams had possession of the ball and drew up a play to win the game.

"We were going to shoot a three pointer, and we took the shot and just missed it. So we had a chance to win," Echeverria said. "So I was proud of the effort they gave in that game."

On Dec. 28, play continued with Williams taking on Tonapah Valley. After a poor performance in the second quarter, Williams lost the game 43-18.

"We scored one point in the second quarter and fell behind," Echeverria said. "Again 18 points - just having issues with scoring and putting the ball in the basket."

In their final game of the tournament, the Lady Vikes put up a strong performance to defeat Ash Fork 34-14.

"We played aggressive and pressed them early on and got a lead and then just kind of worked on some zone defenses and things," Echeverria said.

After the Camp Verde Tournament, the Lady Vikes have a 5-9 overall record and are 2-4 in PowerPoint rankings.

"For the second half of the season we're looking to improve upon decreasing our turnovers and getting a little more aggressive offensively and still play good man-to-man defense," Echeverria said.

The News went to print before the Vikings took on defending division state champs Salt River away on Tuesday.

On Thursday the Vikings take on Veritas Prep at home. Since Veritas Prep does not have a junior varsity girls team, the varsity girls will play at 2:30 p.m., the JV boys will play at 4 p.m. and the varsity boys will play at 5:30 p.m.

On Jan. 13 the Vikings will play away at Sedona. The JV girls and boys will play at 4 p.m., the varsity girls will play at 5:30 p.m. and the varsity boys will play at 7 p.m.


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