Sam Logic makes her living on the court passing the ball, but she switched to scoring on Wednesday night with her team struggling.

Vinton/McCurry’s prevailed over Pelling/Culver’s, 76-61. The game, however, wasn’t pretty.

"We all just played really hard," Logic said. "We didn’t play too well on offense or defense. We just ground it out."

The game started off slowly, and both teams struggled during the first half. Coach Brendan Unkrich’s Vinton team, however, was able to get a lead just before half, 33-28.

And then the squad was able to capitalize after the break.

"We kept the lead because we played good defense," Northern Iowa incoming freshman Erin Dohnalek said.

Unkrich’s team was able to stifle its opponent with a stingy defense, even though the team’s offense wasn’t up to its potential. Vinton had trouble moving the ball and became stagnant; plays weren’t constantly being created, which is why Unkrich team finished with only 7 assists.

"We were taking quick shots," Dohnalek said. "If we pass the ball a couple more times, we probably would’ve gotten better shots."

Unkrich’s team didn’t move the ball well, but the players were still able to score — and that’s what counts.

Vinton stepped up its game when head coach Joe Johnston’s Pelling team finally began scoring in the beginning of the second half. Unkrich’s team only held a 4-point lead at the 16:50 mark in the second half. And then Logic was able to find Jen Keitel streaking up the court a minute later, looking for a 3-pointer that gave Vinton Merchants a 10-point lead it didn’t lose.

Logic finished the game with 23 points, going 8-of-16 from the floor, and was still able to create enough plays for her teammates to pull out a win.

"We made stops when we needed to," she said. "We did pretty well rebounding the ball, and that’s what got us the extra possessions and shots we needed."

Unkrich’s team benefited from its shooting in the second half. Mackenzie Westcott finished with 19 points while shooting 50 percent from the field. Amber Kirschbaum finished with 14 points, and Dohnalek hit two crucial 3-pointers to keep the lead alive.

Even though Unkrich’s team couldn’t move on offense, Vinton was able to rebound the ball. Kirschbaum and Keitel each grabbed 8 rebounds, and Logic snagged 7. Those rebounds allowed them to have more offensive possessions and took away chances for Johnston’s team to come back.

Johnston’s team was short a couple of players but was still able to compete for most of the game. Bethany Doolittle held off Vinton enough to stop the game from turning into a blowout.

She scored 21 points, finished 9-of-15 shooting, and pulled down 7 rebounds.

"We have to work on our rebounding," she said. "We had seven players tonight, and I think we did well with what we had."