By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The Niles Vikings went out in style Tuesday evening.
The Lady Vikes hosted St. Joseph for its final SMAC West Division home game of the season, defeating the Bears 54-29 on Senior Night.
Amanda Pingel, Abby Mitchell and Heather Ellis are the three senior's on this year's team, all of whom were recognized with their parents before tip off.
From the very first play of the game, Niles' defense was ready for action. The Vikes applied pressure to St. Joseph all night, as the Bears had a hard time handling the fast-paced, in your face Niles team.
The Bears, who stayed fairly close to Niles after the first period, trailing by just three, 7-4, let the game slip away in the second period as Niles outscored St. Joe 13-3. The Vikes led 27-11 at halftime.
"We struggled offensively through the first quarter, but managed to hit some shots that ignited us in the second quarter," Niles coach Jim Arnold said.
The Lady Viking's tough defense caused the Bears 16 turnovers in the first half alone.
"We got a big boost from our defense tonight. Our pressure took its toll on St. Joe as we forced lots of turnovers," Arnold said.
In the second half, Niles outscored the Bears 12-9 in the third and 15-9 in the fourth en route to the victory. The Vikes held a 32-20 lead after the third period.
Niles' bench pulled through with another great performance and scored 24 points on the night.
At the free throw line, Niles went 21-26, shooting 80 percent.
"Our free throws continue to be a pleasant surprise. When you shoot 80 percent from the line, that's unbelievable," Arnold said.
Leading the Vikings in scoring was Lindsay Craig with 12 points. Criag was back full force after missing last Thursday's game due to an illness.
Other scorers were Mandie Pingel with nine and Kaylynn Stephenson and Baysia Cox each with seven. Cox also had 11 rebounds, while Craig had five.
"Overall we played pretty well and continue to show improvement as the season winds down. The kids just keep playing hard," Arnold added.
For the Bears, Emily Laukus was the leading scorer with nine points.
Niles will be back on the court on Thursday when it travels to Lakeshore for another West Division match up. The triple header will begin at 4:30 with the freshmen game, followed by the junior varsity at 6. Varsity tip off is set for 7:30.
Junior varsity game
Niles' junior varsity team took a huge 64-17 win over St. Joe Tuesday.
Jennifer Johnson had a game-high 15 points for the Vikings. Demi Schrader added 13 and Katie Bourbonnais had 11.
Niles … 54
St. Joseph … 29
NILES (54) – Amanda Pingel 3 3-4 9, Lindsay Craig 3 6-6 12, Abby Mitchell 0 0-0 0, Kaylynn Stephenson 0 1 4-6 7, Alyssa Pingel 0 0-0 0, Kaitlyn Touhey 2 2-2 6, Kaleigh Hill 1 0-0 2, Rachel Shinsky 1 1-1 3, Courtney Teske 2 2-3 6, Heather Ellis 1 0-0 2, Baysia Cox 2 3-3 7. TOTALS: 16 21-23 54.
ST. JOSEPH (29) – Michelle Bendewald 2 0-2 5, Brittney Benya 1 0-0 2, Megan Young 1 0-0 2, Emily Laukus 1 6-7 8, Kayla Mahler 1 0-0 2, Rebecca Ziebart 2 1-2 7, Katelyn Ward 1 1-2 3, Andrea Vonk 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 9 8-13 29.
St. Joseph 4 7 9 9
Niles 7 20 12 15
3-point baskets – St. Joseph 3 (Bendewald 1, Ziebart 2), Niles 1 (Stephenson); Total fouls – St. Joseph 18 (fouled out: none), Niles 19 (fouled out: Stephenson); Records – Niles 13-4 overall, 4-2 in conference, St. Joesph 8-9 overall, 1-4 in conference.