If you play basketball for Evergreen girls coach Brittaney Cymbolin, you better want to play defense instead of worrying about the pre-game playlist, or you probably won’t be seeing the floor very much.
Cymbolin’s suddenly red hot Vikings won their fourth in a row, harassing Archbold into 12% shooting in the first half, to take a 36-25 win over the Blue Streaks Thursday in a Northwest Ohio Athletic League contest.
That win streak expanded to five two days later with a 42-34 triumph over Hilltop.
The Vikings are now 13-6 on the year.
“Our girls have been extremely focused defensively on limiting second-chance points and defending the drive,” Cymbolin explained after the win over Archbold.
“They have been extremely determined on the defensive end because they know we need great defense in order to win tough games.”
Evergreen jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first four minutes as Addie Ricker, Lucy Serna, Brooke Sintobin and Macy Chamberlin all scored in close, and Serna’s late putback after Meg Mello finally got Archbold on the board with a minute left in the quarter kept the Evergreen lead at eight points heading into the second.
Serna and Chamberlin ballooned the margin to 14-2 with 7:03 to go in the half before Archbold made a run.
Leah McQuade’s up-and-under move and Alayna Perez’ bucket on the backside helped draw Archbold back to 18-8 at the half.
Sophie Rupp’s basket matched one from Ricker to start the third, but that would be the last Blue Streak field goal the rest of the period.
Sintobin’s stickback, Ricker’s backcut basket from Kennedy Emmitt, then 3-4 free throws blew the lead to 27-11 after three.
Emmitt’s long triple helped the Vikings go up 31-11 in the first 47 ticks of the fourth but the Vikings didn’t score for the next six minutes.
During that time, five Viking turnovers turned into ‘pick six’ scores from Rupp, Makena Thiel and Carly Grime, along with two other Rupp baskets on drives to draw Archbold within 31-23 with 2:13 to go.
Ricker canned 2-2 from the line to break the Vikings scoring drought, then Chamberlin’s score with 22 seconds left and Emmitt’s pair from the line restored order.
“We knew Archbold had the ability to go on multiple runs,” Cymbolin said of the fourth quarter. “We knew the game was going to be one of peaks and valleys so I’m proud of the grit (our kids) displayed in order to fight their way out of a low moment of the game.”
Ricker and Chamberlin each had 10 points to lead the Vikings who shot just 13-44 from the field and committed 24 turnovers.
However, again it was the Evergreen defense that carried them as they forced Archbold into 11-47 from the floor, including just 4-32 in the first three quarters.
Archbold had 18 turnovers. Rupp led the Blue Streaks with 10 points.
