Sports : Vikettes at .500; to play for first time in new Independence gym tonight

Four games into the new season, the Vinton-Shellsburg Vikettes have already doubled their win total from last year.
V-S is 2-2 heading into tonight's game at Independence. A 50-32 win at Wapsie Valley last year was its only victory of the season.
"It's going well, as I thought it would," said coach Deb Schirm. "They worked hard over the summer, the play well together and they are shooting the ball well."
Coach Schirm also praised the players for their unselfishness.
Tonight, the Vikettes play for the very first time in the brand new gym at the new Independence high school/middle school facility.
The newness of the court doesn't bother the coach.
"Playing at Independence is like a neutral court for us," she said, referring to the 30-mile distance between the two towns that allows many local fans and VS students to cheer for the Vikettes.
Also, says Schirm, it takes any team a while to adjust to a new court.

Team leaders
Senior Bethany Stainbrook is the team's leading scorer after four games; she has made 9 of her first 10 free throws while adding 51 points over four games. Sophomores Maci Griffith and Anna Sagan, who were starters as freshman, are also averaging more than 10 points per game. Griffith, who scored 23 in Friday's overtime win, has 43 points, 12 of them on 3-point shots. Sagan has played in three games and is averaging 13 points per game.
Sagan also leads the team in rebounds with 17; Stainbrook has hauled in 15 and junior Brea Burroughs, 11.Griffith leads the team in assists and steals, as well.

Directions

The new school is at 700 20th Avenue SW on the west side of Independence. To get to the school via Highway 150, take the Highway 20 exit from Highway 150 just south of Independence, then go west two miles; take the first exit, then drive north about 1.5 miles.