By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
NILES - After holding Portage Central to single digital scoring in the first half of Tuesday evenings Big 16 West Division game, Niles' varsity basketball team went down hill in the the second half, but still walked away with a 57-29 conference win.
The Lady Vikes shut down the Mustangs' offense in the first two periods, taking a 16-2 lead after the first and a 31-8 advantage entering halftime.
But entering the third, Portage Central's offense came alive, as the Mustangs went on a 9-0 run and Niles &#8221let them do whatever they wanted to,“; Arnold said.
At the end of the third, the Lady Vikes had a 43-19 lead and ended the fourth with the victory.
Arnold stated that his Vikings didn't maintain their focus, nor play with the intensity that they did in the first half.
Although Niles held the Mustangs to only 18.7 percent from the field, Arnold said that his team is just going to have to come out of the locker room more focused.
Sarah Dreher led the Vikes in scoring with 18 points and added 12 rebounds.
Brandie Radde added 17 points, five steals and three assists, Jessica Shinsky had two points and eight rebounds, Megan Scameheorn added four steals and three assists and Lindsay Craig and Lauryn Gibson both had two assists for Niles.
The Vikings will travel to Battle Creek on Thursday for another Big 16 match-up set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Niles 16 31 43 57
Portage Central 2 8 19 29
NILES
Amanda Pingel 0 4-6 4, Shelley Aurand 2 1-1 5, Lindsay Craig 0 2-2 2, Megan Scameheorn 0 2-6 2, Leigh Tyler 2 0-0 4, Brandie Radde 6 1 2-3 17, Sarah Dreher 6 6-6 18, Stephanee Schrader 0 0-2 0, Lauryn Gibson 0 2-2 2, Jessica Shinsky 0 2-4 2, Brittney Wolverton 0 1-4 1, Rebecca Teske 0 0-0 0, Baysia Cox 0 0-0 0.
PORTAGE CENTRAL
Kristin Colwell 0 1 0-1 3, Claire Schoolmaster 2 1 3-4 10, Jenna Wenglisk 1 0-0 2, Krystin Eichorn 1 0-0 2, Ashley Buyce 0 0-0 0, Lizzy Ulmer 1 0-0 2, Steph Murray 0 1-2 1, MAndie Ansari 0 1 0-0 3, Meghan Bennett 0 0-0 0, Daisey Howlind 0 1 0-0 3, Sara Skolasky 0 0-0 0, Caitlin Buckstaff 0 1 0-0 3