The ACGC girls basketball team was hoping to start the new year with their first win of the season. However, the injury grinch game during the holiday season and snatched freshman Kylie Young off the court. Young rolled her ankle during a scrimmage this holiday break and was unable to help the Charger girls, as they fell to the Van Meter Bulldogs 44-59.

The Chargers had a brief lead before the Bulldogs surged ahead on a 14-0 run. The Charger offense responded with an 11-0 run of their own, sparked by five consecutive points from the Hoover sisters. But Van Meter grabbed another 14-0 run near the end of the first half and held a ten point lead going into the locker room. The Bulldogs never looked back. Sophomore Natalie Barth and junior Emily Roberts each had 17 points to lead all scores. Mady Smith led all Chargers with 15, including two made three-pointers.

The boys didn’t fare any better against the undefeated Bulldogs. Van Meter stormed out to 22-0 run to lead 23-2 early. The Bulldogs led 49-17 at the half and pulled away to hand the Chargers the most convincing defeat of the season, 88-33. Six different Bulldogs scored ten points or more in the victory and move to 9-0 on the season. Collin Stowe led all Chargers with 11 points and Quynton Younker’s streak of four consecutive double-digit scoring efforts ended with nine points.

The Charger boys fall to 3-7 on the season and have lost five straight games. The Chargers will hit the road to Woodward on Friday to tangle with the Woodward-Granger Hawks. Tip-off for the girls starts at 6pm with pre-game coverage starting at 5:45 on KKRF2 and the Raccoon Valley Radio Network.