Senior Shauna Blake, a starting forward for the Vikings, had one of her best all-around games against Mesabi East. Blake doesn’t score a lot of points, but she plays tough defense and makes a lot of good passes and fights for rebounds. She is a team player first—and last.
No matter what anyone thinks, Viking Coach Kelly Senty doesn’t try to run up the score on an opponent. And they didn’t against Northeast Range on Thursday, January 21, in a game played at Northeast Range, although the final 51-4 outcome might look like it. Four points is believed to be the fewest points a Viking team has ever given up, but Senty made sure her JV players were on the floor the whole second half.
Simply put, the Nighthawks are young and had a lot of trouble making baskets.
Meanwhile, the Vikings throttled back their pressure defense mid-way through the first half, and went into the break up 35 points.
Seeing limited action, Lily Gruber-Schulz led the team with 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist and 3 blocked shots. Emily Jacobsen scored 15 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and had 3 assists. Sophie Eliasen netted 5 points, and had 2 boards, 2 steals and 2 assists. Bayley Cox finished with 4 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 assists. Shauna Blake had 4 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists; Sarah Toftey had 1 rebound, 1 steal and 1 assist while twin sister Hannah finished with 2 points and 1 rebound. Abbie Crawford had 1 rebound, Joceline Deneweth 1 rebound and 1 steal and Alyssa Spry, 1 rebound, also saw playing time.
Vikings top Carlton
Carlton brought a scrappy bunch of players to Cook County the next day, and the Vikings had to work hard to wear them down, winning 52-31.
Freshman guard Sophie Eliasen hit three 3-point shots in the game, and Gruber-Schulz scored 23 points, most coming inside.
Pressure defense by the guards—Sarah and Hannah Toftey, and underneath in the paint by Jacobsen, Blake and Gruber-Schulz made the difference in this game.
The Vikings were up 32-14 at the break, but Carlton kept pace with the Vikings scoring wise throughout the second half, which kept most of the Viking starters on the floor throughout the game.
“The girls played a tight defense against Carlton and have also decreased their turnovers to under 12. The girls are taking care of the basketball well and getting good looks at the basket,” said Coach Senty.
Eliasen ended her night with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 assists; Blake had 2 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assists; Sarah Toftey finished with 2 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 assists; Hannah Toftey had 2 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist; Jacobsen scored 10 points, had 9 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal; and Gruber-Schulz ended her night with 23 points, 10 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 assists.
Vikings let one get away
Ouch!
The Vikings’ game against Mesabi East on Tuesday, January 26 will haunt them for a while because the Vikings, who worked so hard throughout the contest, let this win slip through their fingers at the end of the game.
To be fair, it was close all the way. The Vikings led 23-20 at half, and it was clear the Giants were going to make them fight for any points in the paint, as they packed their defense inside to stop Emily Jacobsen and Lily Gruber-Schulz.
Both teams played fantastic defense, and the Vikings held a lead over Mesabi until 10 minutes left to play when the Giants tied the score 31-31. The score was tied again 37-37 and the first lead the Giants would take over the Vikings wouldn’t come until there was about 1:15 left on the game clock, and then the lead was only one point, 40-39. The Vikings had four tries to score baskets but no one could buy one, and the Vikings fell 42-39, giving up 2 more points on free throws as they fouled intentionally to send Mesabi to the line in hopes of getting the ball back.
Both Gruber-Schulz and Jacobsen were sent sprawling to the floor several times by some rough contact underneath the basket in this physical contest, with few whistles blown against aggressive Giant defenders. Still the team had many chances to win the game and came up just short against their 2A opponent, someone they won’t face in the playoffs.
The girls don’t come home to play again until February 12 against Moose Lake/Willow River in a game that starts at 6:30 p.m. They also play Cromwell at home on February 16 at 6:30 p.m. Come out and cheer for your Vikings!
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