Trailing by a point with nine seconds left to play, Ariana Poyirier shoots from behind the three point line and hit nothing but net. Ariana sealed the win for the Vikings with a steal at the other end of the court as time ran out for the Panthers. Photo courtesy of Bruce Johnson
Arianna Poyirier made the first basket and the last basket for Cook County in the Vikings exciting 60-59 win over the South Ridge Panthers last Friday night in a game played at home in front of a packed crowd in the Pam Taylor gymnasium.
While many will have forgotten Ariana’s first two-point shot– a seven-footer in the paint–not many who were watching will forget Poyirier’s last chance, a three-pointer from the deep right corner with a defender in her face that hit nothing but net.
Still, there were nine seconds on the clock, and the Vikings were only up by one point…
Meanwhile, Abbie Crawford’s hot shooting from three-point land kept the Vikings in the game. Crawford, who led all scorers with 27 points, was deadly from downtown, notching five 3-point baskets. And as far as scoring, Crawford actually made the first point for the Vikings, getting to the free-throw line and making one of her two free-throws, which made the score 4-1 in favor of the Panthers.
Crawford would end up 4-5 from the free-throw line and hit clutch shot after clutch shot for her team all night while playing tough defense.
With the score 26-26, the Panthers managed to get to the free-throw line three times, making six points and one three-point basket while holding the Vikings to five points. Led by Adella Oleisak, the Panther’s very skilled ninth-grade guard, the Panthers would go into the locker room up 36-31.
Barely a minute went by in the second half before the Vikings tied the game at 36, both on baskets by Crawford. Abbie nailed a long three and then came right back with a two-pointer off of an offensive rebound.
While Abbie and Ariana were having big nights, their teammates were also playing very well.
At 5’3” (measured in tall shoes, I think) senior point guard Alyssa Spry pulled down some big rebounds, played great defense and scored nine points on three two-point baskets and one three-point basket.
The Panthers would go on another excellent run, going up 43-37, but the Vikings, behind some nice plays from Paisley Smith and Rhonnie Poyirier in the paint, fought back to tie the score at 50 all. Katie Peck, who didn’t score, made several great defensive stops down the stretch and handled the Panther pressure well late in the game.
With nine seconds on the clock, the Panthers had plenty of time to score the winning basket. After getting the ball across the half-court line, Ariana clamped down on the Panther ball-handler and made a great steal, passing the ball up court to a Viking player who held it as the time wound down to zero and the crowd cheered its approval. The Vikings came together to celebrate their first win of the season over a very game South Ridge team.
Abbie Crawford led the team with 27 points. Ariana Poyirier netted 12, Alyssa Spry 9, Rhonnie Poyirier chipped in 6, and Paisley Smith ended her night with 6 points.
Adella Olesiak led the Panthers with 17 points, Alana Young 12, and Raina Schneider had 11 points for South Ridge.
After the game, head coach Kelly Hawsen said, “The girls played really well. We talked about playing inspiring basketball, and they rose to the occasion. It was a fun night of basketball.”
Vikings versus Cherry
Although the Vikings never gave up, they ran into a buzz saw when they played Cherry here on January 7.
Cherry lived up to its’ “Tiger” team name, putting on a tremendous display of defense.
Cook County played a strong first half and trailed 35-20. However, the Tigers used a full-court trapping press to start the second half and ran off 19 straight points before the Vikings’ Rhonnie Poyirier made a two-point basket.
The Vikings scored nine points in the second half and lost 69-29. Most of the Vikings’ second-half points came on free throws as they rarely got a good look at the basket.
Cherry is currently ranked in the top 25 Class A schools in the state and showed why on this night. The Tigers made most of their baskets on lay-ups following take-a-ways.
Rhonnie Poyier led the team in scoring with 12 points. Abbie Crawford netted 6, Alyssa Spry 3, Paisley Smith 2, Katie Peck 2, Anna Hay 2, and Ariana Poyirier, who fouled out of the game, ended her night with 2 points.
Kaelynn Kudis led Cherry with 17 points.
Coming up
The Vikings face Floodwood tonight, Friday, January 10, at home at 6:30 p.m. The next day Ely will come to CCHS to play the Vikings in a game that starts at 1 p.m. And finally, the Silver Bay Mariners will make the short trip up the shore to play the Vikings on Tuesday, January 14, in a game that starts at 4:45 p.m. Come out and cheer for your Vikings!
Leave a Reply