The Viking girls’ basketball team had two more wins last week against the Babbitt Lady Knights and the Wrenshall Wrens. Brea Boomer led the Vikings with 14 points in the home game against the Wrens on January 29.
Following a tough loss on the road to Floodwood last week, the Vikings responded with a vengeance, as they completely overwhelmed the Babbitt Lady Knights and Wrenshall Wrens in backto back blowout wins. On Thursday, January 28, the Vikings traveled to Babbitt where they came away with a 75-27 win. Thenext night, Cook County played at home and dismantled the Wrenshall Wrens, 74-23.
In Babbitt, the Vikings’ defense completely shut down the Lady Knights. Even though the Vikings missed 11 free throws and committed a few more turnovers than they are used to, Cook County took a dominating 49-20 lead into halftime. The inside-outside combination of Ashley Deschampe and Essa Jacobsen combined
for 26 points in the first 18 minutes of play. In addition, Christina Nelson scored 10 first-half points, as the Vikings’ versatile scorers were too much and too many for Babbitt to defend.
In the second half, Cook County’s bench got extended playing time as the game quickly went to running time after the Vikings captured a 35-point lead. The Viking bench continued to play good defense, as Cook County outscored the Lady Knights 26-7 in the second half to win 75-27. Four Vikings finished in double figures: Deschampe (17), Jacobsen (15), Nelson (10), and Ailee Larson (10). Brea Boomer added nine points to the Vikings’ tally.
The Cook County/Silver Bay Alpine team celebrates after the girls’ Alpine team won the Section 7 meet—a contest with 19 schools and 100 elite racers participating! The girls’ team advances to the State Meet on Wednesday, February 10. Signe Larson and Molly Rider advance to State as individuals. Signe finished 4th and Molly was sixth. The top 10 racers advance. Congratulations, girls! Front, lying down: Luke Fenwick, Clay Gruber-Shultz. Front kneeling: Signe Larson, Joe Borud. (L-R, middle) Colin Berglund, Molly Rider, Ali Boettcher, Karie Smedstad (team manager), Amber Todd, Rose Ingebrigtsen, Megan Lehto, Katie Smedstad. (L-R, back) Anders Zimmer, Karl Ingebrigtsen, Kristina Andelova, Dexter Yoki, Kyle Martinson. Read all about the exciting meet next week!
The next day, the Vikings showed no signs of fatigue from their road game the night before, as they allowed only four made shots in the first half against Wrenshall. The Wrens struggled with the Vikings’ intense man-to-man pressure, which led to numerous Cook County lay-ups.
Wrenshall’s young team played hard, but was simply overwhelmed by the size, speed, and strength of the veteran Viking squad. Boomer dominated inside, scoring 14 first-half points. Deschampe continued her steady play, adding 13 points, many of which were on nice drives to the basket.
After the first 18 minutes of play were completed, the Vikings had a 53-9 halftime lead. In the second half, Head Coach T.J. Super employed many different strategies to force his team to work the ball around on offense as not to run up the score against a younger and totally overmatched opponent. Coach Super played 14 girls in the second half, with most of the playing time going primarily to the Junior Varsity squad. The Vikings had 12 girls score in the 74-23 win.
Boomer led the Vikings with 14 points as Deschampe added 13, and Jacobsen chipped in 10. The Vikings are now 15-2 on the season. Coach Super’s newest challenge seems to be finding a balance between not beating an overmatched opponent by over 100 points and still preparing his team for upcoming battles against competitive teams like Ely, Esko, and Barnum.
Cook County’s next game is this Friday at home against the Two Harbors Agates. The Vikings also play at home Saturday afternoon against Ely, a game that was rescheduled due to previous weather conditions. Look in next week’s edition for all the scores and highlights.
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