The Burlington School girls shake loose after long layoff
By Conor O'Neill
Burlington Times-News
The rustiness of not playing a full game in about two weeks was there for The Burlington School’s girls’ basketball team.
In what became a 65-41 defeat of visiting Salem Baptist on Thursday night, that rust was gone by the second half.
“The defense, that’s the main key. Defense was kind of shaky, but I guess we can get it back as we play more and more and become more of a team,” said freshman guard Aniyah Vanhook, who scored a game-high 18 points and recorded five assists.
The Burlington School (11-4 overall, 5-0 Triad Athletic Conference) hadn’t played a full game since Dec. 30. A game was started Jan. 3 against Oakwood School, but was halted in the first quarter because of a leaking roof and won’t be resumed or rescheduled.
So, with the wintry weather that hit last weekend, the Spartans knew there would be some rough spots.
“I thought we adjusted well, we picked up on defense, kind of wore them down a little bit,” coach Tavores Vanhook said. “Always something to work on, and that’s defense for us.”
Aniyah Vanhook scored 10 of her 18 points in the first quarter. The Spartans led 22-15 at the end of it, and the lead was 32-26 entering halftime.
Holding Salem Baptist (18-4, 6-2) without a field goal for nearly the first six minutes of the third quarter and for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter allowed The Burlington School to pull away.
Molina Williams tallied 11 points and 12 rebounds, while all three of Jessica Fluette’s 3-pointers came in the fourth quarter to break the game open further. Elizabeth Rice added eight points and Lige Reese and Olivia Eller scored six apiece.
“It did get better, maybe in the second, in the third and early in the fourth quarter,” Tavores Vanhook said. “I thought we did a much better job once we got over the rust, because we haven’t played at home in forever, it seems like.”
Aniyah Vanhook was recognized in a pregame ceremony for reaching the 1,000-point plateau for her career in a game last month. Though she’s a freshman, it’s her third season on the varsity team. She hit the mark with 14 points in a Dec. 20 game against West Stokes.
“That’s neat. A ninth-grader and 1,000 points. … It’s not normal, but it’s amazing,” she said.
By Conor O'Neill
Burlington Times-News
The rustiness of not playing a full game in about two weeks was there for The Burlington School’s girls’ basketball team.
In what became a 65-41 defeat of visiting Salem Baptist on Thursday night, that rust was gone by the second half.
“The defense, that’s the main key. Defense was kind of shaky, but I guess we can get it back as we play more and more and become more of a team,” said freshman guard Aniyah Vanhook, who scored a game-high 18 points and recorded five assists.
The Burlington School (11-4 overall, 5-0 Triad Athletic Conference) hadn’t played a full game since Dec. 30. A game was started Jan. 3 against Oakwood School, but was halted in the first quarter because of a leaking roof and won’t be resumed or rescheduled.
So, with the wintry weather that hit last weekend, the Spartans knew there would be some rough spots.
“I thought we adjusted well, we picked up on defense, kind of wore them down a little bit,” coach Tavores Vanhook said. “Always something to work on, and that’s defense for us.”
Aniyah Vanhook scored 10 of her 18 points in the first quarter. The Spartans led 22-15 at the end of it, and the lead was 32-26 entering halftime.
Holding Salem Baptist (18-4, 6-2) without a field goal for nearly the first six minutes of the third quarter and for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter allowed The Burlington School to pull away.
Molina Williams tallied 11 points and 12 rebounds, while all three of Jessica Fluette’s 3-pointers came in the fourth quarter to break the game open further. Elizabeth Rice added eight points and Lige Reese and Olivia Eller scored six apiece.
“It did get better, maybe in the second, in the third and early in the fourth quarter,” Tavores Vanhook said. “I thought we did a much better job once we got over the rust, because we haven’t played at home in forever, it seems like.”
Aniyah Vanhook was recognized in a pregame ceremony for reaching the 1,000-point plateau for her career in a game last month. Though she’s a freshman, it’s her third season on the varsity team. She hit the mark with 14 points in a Dec. 20 game against West Stokes.
“That’s neat. A ninth-grader and 1,000 points. … It’s not normal, but it’s amazing,” she said.
