Storm Lake Times Pilot

Ridge View edges Westwood to win Western Valley tournament


Ridge View outscored Westwood 37-30 over the second and third quarters and then held off a late rally by the Rebels to win the Western Valley Conference tournament championship 47-45 last Saturday at Lawton.

The Raptors led 5-3 after the first quarter and took a 29-22 lead at halftime. It was 42-33 Raptors after three quarter before Westwood finished the final 8 minutes on a 12-5 run.

Madison Stowater led Ridge View with 14 points. Emma Vohs added 13 while Shae Dutler and Addison Schmidt each had six. Rowan Jensen scored five points and Katie Pickhinke three.

Vohs led in rebounding with 10. Pickhinke and Jensen each had six, Dutler five and Schmidt four. Vohs and Stowater charted five assists apiece. Dutler added two. Dutler tallied three steals and Vohs two. Stowater blocked a pair of shots.

Ridge View made 19 of 49 field goals for 39 percent, including 6 of 15 from 3-point.

“The first quarter both teams really struggled to get anything to go,” Ridge View coach Brian Bode said. “I liked our poise even though we weren’t scoring. Our defensive effort held them in check as well. Shae really did a tremendous job all night of keeping pressure on the ball. We came alive in the second and third quarter where I thought we really became more aggressive shooters, pulling down rebounds and getting the loose balls.

“Madison had some great drives to score and open up scoring opportunities for others while Emma really did the dirty work with her rebounding,” Bode added. “Some big shots by Addison early on and Rowan late really proved to be timely. We got a little tense in the fourth quarter when we struggled to get a couple shots to fall, missed some free throws, and didn’t take care of the ball very well. We allowed them to make a late push and erase a 12-point lead down to just two points. We knew this feeling all too well, unfortunately, from our early meeting where we let on get away. Thankfully this time, we were able to finish it on winning side.

“I’m so proud of these girls,” Bode continued. “It was a pretty special moment for them to achieve the conference tournament championship. It’s a testament to their toughness and hard work they’ve put in. As special as this is, I know this group of girls will only strive to be better because we know the games from here on out are only going to get tougher. This is just another checkpoint to our season, which hopefully can boost us as we gear up for the postseason.”