VASJ girls basketball update

The Villa Angela-St. Joseph girls basketball team ran its current winning streak to five and its overall record to a very impressive 13-3 with three wins in five days.

On Jan. 22, VASJ dominated Trinity, 70-38, at Viking Village. During a pregame ceremony, senior captain Mariah McGhee was honored for eclipsing 1,000 points in her career.

On Jan. 24, the Vikings avenged one of their three losses on the year by beating Holy Name, 49-40, in a game they trailed at the start of the fourth quarter. And on Jan. 26, VASJ disposed of host Lake Catholic, 59-37.
“I think the word that would apply to this team is ‘tenacious’. They get after you and they don’t want the other team to score,” VASJ coach Tony Redding said. “The other big thing is they are excited about learning. Some groups just want to go out and play, but these girls really want to learn the game and the system.”

VASJ is getting contributions from a host of players this winter, and Redding said as deep as he goes off the bench which routinely goes beyond 10 girls playing, he and the coaching staff are comfortable with any Viking stepping on the floor.

Toni Beuck led VASJ in scoring against Trinity and Holy Name, but it was Angelina Goosby who stepped up with 14 points versus Lake Catholic. Aaliyah Owens, Tyonna Foster, Shannon Garvey, Chardae Hendon, Aysia Kemp, Jordan Walker and Shamaurice Mowler are just some of the players contributing on a nightly basis for the Vikings.

“As the season was starting we as coaches would play around with starting lineups and it got to a point at one point we would look at the second five or third five and say, ‘Wow, this five might beat the first five.’ That’s a good thing,” Redding said. “After every game we assess if we reached our goals for that game and we go from there so hopefully it will all lead to us achieving our ultimate goal.
“I think this group has what it takes and wants to take it a step further than last year.”
VASJ fell to Cuyahoga Heights in a Division IV district championship game last winter and has its eyes set on a regional berth this March.

Villa Angela-St. Joseph will open the charge to Columbus by hosting a sectional semifinal Feb. 25 against Whitney Young.

VASJ is a No. 2 seed at the Division IV Orwell Grand Valley District tournament. Last year, the Vikings finished as district runner-up at Grand Valley to Cuyahoga Heights. The Redskins are a No. 1 seed at he district this year and the teams would only meet again if both reached the district title game on March 7.
If the Vikings advance past Whitney Young, they will host the winner of Fairport and Newbury in a sectional title game on Feb. 28 at 1 p.m. at Viking Village. The district semifinals and finals will be held at Grand Valley.

The district was split for seeding purposes into a North and South sectional and then blended into the district bracket, so there are two No. 1 seeds (Windham and Cuyahoga Heights), two No. 2 seeds (VASJ and Cortland Maplewood), etc. Two No. 4 seeds are on the bottom of the bracket while two No. 6 seeds are on the top.

VASJ is 16-3 and has three games remaining in the regular season, starting with a road game at Padua on Feb. 11.