By By DAN WEISS / Niles Daily Star
NILES -- Being in the Top 10 has not been very fun for the Niles varsity basketball team.
As the No. 2 team in Class B last week, the Vikings suffered their first loss of the season and Tuesday night, as the No. 6 team, Niles dropped a 47-38 decision to Battle Creek Lakeview.
The Vikings are now 9-2 on the year.
The Spartans (9-2) jumped out to 9-1 lead quickly in the first quarter and never trailed.
Center Kacy Sellers and point guard Breana Ballard did most of the damage for Lakeview. Ballard led all scorers with 17 points and Sellers added 16.
The Vikings rallied late in the third quarter and into the early part of the fourth quarter, outscoring Lakeview 14-3 in a stretch of six and a half minutes.
Niles closed the gap to three points, at 39-36, on an inside basket by Sarah Dreher. The Vikings then proceeded to miss their last eight free throws down the stretch and the Spartans pulled away for good.
Niles made just 12-of-27 from the free throw line and made just 12-of-41 (29 percent) from the floor.
Brandie Radde led the Vikings with 10 points. Amber Peters, in her first game back after suffering an ankle injury on Sept. 23, added seven points, five rebounds and four steals. Dreher also scored seven points.
The Niles junior varsity basketball team beat Lakeview 42-27. Chardae Ross led the Vikings with 18 points and Jessica Shinsky added nine.
The Niles freshmen basketball team suffered a 37-31 loss to Lakeview. Kate Sebastian and Shalayla Thompson each scored eight for the Vikings.
Niles hosts Kalamazoo Central Thursday in another Big-16 Conference game.
Lakeview….47
Niles………..38
Lakeview: Stephanie Campbell 3 0-0 7, Chelsea Frantz 1 1-3 4, Breana Ballard 4 8-12 17, Sarah Bartholomew 0 2-2 2, Laura Nettleton 0 1-2 1, Kacy Sellers 5 6-8 16, Jessica Ismail 0 0-2 0. Totals: 13 18-29 47
Niles: Ashley Pingel 2 2-2 6, Amber Peters 3 0-0 7, Jessica Johnson 0 0-2 0, Leigh Tyler 0 0-0 0, Brandie Radde 4 1-3 10, Sarah Dreher 2 3-6 7, Kate Whittaker 1 3-10 5, Melissa Olsen 0 0-0 0, Ashley Spriggs 0 3-4 3, Megan Scameheorn 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12 12-27 38
Lakeview 9 16 11 11--47
Niles 5 11 11 11--38
3-point shooting: Lakeview 3 (Campbell, Frantz, Ballard), Niles 2 (Peters, Radde). Team fouls (fouled out): Lakeview 26 (Campbell), Niles 22 (Pingel). Team records: Lakeview 9-3, Niles 9-2