Defense was the name of the game on Friday night as the Hoosic Valley Indians made 15 steals and held the Tamarac Bengals to 10 field goals en route to a 43-27 Wasaren League victory. Hoosic Valley's Erin Davidson (right) smothers Tamarac's Zysnia Osepa (21) during Friday's game. (All photos by J.S. Carras - The Record).

Hoosic Valley's Samantha Anderson elevates towards the hoop in Friday's victory. The 6-foot senior center finished with seven points and four rebounds.

Erin Davidson tries to maneuver around Tamarac's Nikki Cavallo (1) in Friday's game. Hoosic Valley's Carlee Chapko made eight steals and brought a ton of energy to the Indians' pressure defense. The Indians are aggressive and they really collapse on ballcarriers who try to drive, making it hard for opposing offenses to run their sets. Check out the full game recap in Saturday's edition of The Record, along with a full local roundup and boxscores.

Hoosic Valley's Carolyn Houston prepares to leap while being defended by Tamarac's Brittany Smith (11). Houston scored a game-high 13 points, added six rebounds, four assists and a steal.

When I saw the Indians host Stillwater a few weeks ago, Houston did not score any points but she was still instrumental to her team's success.

"Even if I don’t score, if I can make assists, it’s just as good as points," Houston said after Friday's game. "I don’t care if I score as long as our team is doing well and I’m playing well."

A big reason why the Indians (6-1, 12-1, No. 7 NYS Class C) are so dangerous is because they have plenty of talent on the bench. Eight different Indians contributed at least one steal in Friday's game and seven players made at least two rebounds and six made at least one assist.

"We have a good, deep team," Chapko said. "If Sam (Anderson) knows she needs a sub she can come out and someone will be in for her. Whitney Kugler comes in for me and I know she’ll be there ready to go."