By By ERIKA PICKLES / Niles Daily Star
STEVENSVILLE - The Niles Lady Vikings have another trophy to add to the case.
In Friday evening's Class B district final game, Niles handed Dowagiac a 52-35 loss, ending the Chieftains season with a 7-15 record.
The Vikings improved to 19-3 and will face the winner of the Comstock-Gull Lake contest on Monday evening in Vicksburg.
Dowagiac made Niles work in the first quarter, taking an early lead, which bopped back and forth throughout the period.
With one minute left, Sarah Dreher pounded in a basket and Lindsay Craig bombed a three-pointer to give the Lady Vikes a 15-12 lead entering the second.
That was all Dowagiac could handle as Niles took charge and never looked back.
Megan Scameheorn opened the scoring with a basket, Brandie Radde added six points and Dreher had seven points for Niles.
On the Chiefs' side, Holly Lowe and Katie Roach were the only two to score in the quarter, bringing the halftime score to 20-30.
In the second half, you could have pretty much called it the triple tower show as Radde, Dreher and Jessica Shinsky did most of the scoring for the Vikes.
Lindsay Craig added a bucket during the third to make her the only other player to score in the period. Niles had the 37-28 advantage entering the final period.
Niles continued with the tough defense in the fourth, keeping Dowagiac's No. 1 scorer Katie Stuppy away from the basket as much as possible. That plan worked. The sophomore guard averages 19.6 points per game and was held to only 10 points Friday night.
As the final buzzer sounded, a very excited Viking team celebrated their victory in front of fans and family members.
Dreher led Niles in points with 21 on the night. Radde added 14, Shinsky had nine and Lindsay Craig added five for Niles.
The Chiefs were led by Lowe with 11 points and Kristy Cooper added five.
Shinsky said that it felt great to bring home another championship win.
On heading to regionals, Scameheorn said her team is going to have to be ready.
NILES 52
Amanda Pingel 0 2-1 1, Megan Scameheorn 1 1-0 2, Brandie Radde 3 1 6-5 14, Sarah Dreher 7 9-7 21, Jessica Shinsky 4 2-1 9, Lindsay Craig 1 1 0-0 5, Stephanee Schrader 0 0-0 0, Courtney Teske 0 0-0 0
DOWAGIAC 35
Kim Luthringer0 2-4 2, Holly Lowe 1 3 0-0 11, Amy Wood 1 0-0 2, Katy Stuppy 3 4-4 10, Kristy Cooper 1 1 0-0 5, Jolynn Hawkins 0 0-0 0, Amber Clark 1 0-0 2, Katie Roach 0 3-4 3.
Niles 15 30 37 55
Dowagiac12 20 28 35