By By SCOTT NOVAK / Niles Daily Star
DOWAGIAC -- For one quarter Thursday night the Dowagiac varsity basketball team followed coach Joe Spitale's game plan to a tee.
The Chieftains held Niles to just six points and trailed the No. 3-ranked Lady Vikings, 6-4.
Then came the second quarter.
Niles outscored Dowagiac 55-14 over the final three periods of the Big-16 Conference West Division contest to score a 61-18 victory.
Dowagiac has struggled throughout the season in the third quarter. The same was true Thursday night as Niles outscored Dowagiac 24-5 to take a commanding 45-14 lead entering the final period.
The Lady Vikings settled down, clamped down on the Chieftains defensively and turned the game into a rout.
Dowagiac turned the ball over just 11 times in the opening half, but committed 19 turnovers in the final 16 minutes to contribute to the lopsided loss.
Niles sophomore Sarah Dreher really picked up the slack for the loss of standout Amber Peters to an ankle injury. Peters injured her ankle Tuesday night in the Vikings' 66-52 win over Benton Harbor.
Dreher led all scorers with 17 points.
Niles also got 12 points each from sophomore Brandie Radde and senior Ashley Spriggs.
Dowagiac had just three players score in the contest as Brittney Reist led the way with nine points. Brianne Reist finished with six points and Holly Lowe three.
The Niles junior varsity basketball team beat Dowagiac 50-20, led by 10 points each from Jessica Shinsky and Chardae Ross. The Vikings are now 8-1 on the year.
The Niles freshmen basketball team beat Dowagiac 41-19. Torii Mitchell led the Vikings with 10 points.
Niles…………61
Dowagiac….18
Niles: Brandie Radde 5 0-0 12, Jessica Johnson 3 1-3 7, Melissa Olsen 2 0-0 4, Sarah Dreher 4 9-12 17, Ashley Spriggs 5 2-2 12, Ashley Pingel 0 0-0 0, Kate Whittaker 1 0-0 2, Leigh Tyler 1 0-0 2, Colombe Martin 2 1-2 5, Megan Scameheorn 0 0-0 0. Totals: 23 13-19 61
Dowagiac: Brittney Reist 4 0-0 9, Brianne Reist 1 4-6 6, Jennifer Pilot 0 0-0 0, Brittany Winters 0 0-0 0, Ashley Brewer 0 0-0 0, Elizabeth Fryman 0 0-0 0, Holly Lowe 1 0-0 3, Valerie Johnson 0 0-0 0, Amy Wood 0 0-0 0, Kim Luthringer 0 0-0 0. Totals: 6 4-6 18
Niles 6 15 24 16--61
Dowagiac 4 5 5 4--18
3-point shooting: Niles 2 (Radde), Dowagiac 2 (Brittney Reist and Holly Lowe). Team fouls (fouled out): Niles 7 (none), Dowagiac 13 (none). Team records: Niles 9-0 (4-0 SMAC West), Dowagiac 0-7 (0-4)