With the holiday break it’s time to catch up with the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams.
Currently the Viking boys are in 5th place out of 11 teams in the Polar League conference. Their overall record is 5-2 and they are 2-2 in the conference. Esko leads the conference with an overall record of 7-1 and is 3-0 in Polar League play.
The girls currently sit in 8th place out of 11 teams with a 3-4 record and are 1-3 in conference play. Esko’s girls are in first place with a 4-0 Polar League mark, and are 7-2 overall.
Strong stats for Viking girls
Senior guard/forward Theresa Morrin leads the Vikings with a 9.1 per game scoring average. Morrin is shooting a phenomenal 48.4 percent from the field and is grabbing about 5 rebounds per game.
Junior guard Breana Peterson is averaging 8.4 points per game and is shooting a league-leading 65.2 percent from the free throw line.
Front line players Kaitlynn Linnell, a senior, and Lily Gruber-Schulz, a ninth-grader, are averaging 6.7 and 6.6 points per game. Gruber-Schulz has been a force on boards, grabbing about 11 rebounds per game and Linnell isn’t far behind with a 7.9 average.
Senior guard Leah Utities is averaging 6.1 points per game and has hit 6 three-point shots. She is also a leader on the team in assists and steals.
Key subs off the bench are sophomores Kaylee Cronberg and Jami Sjogren.
Everson and Boomer lead in steals and assists
Senior guard Colin Everson has been a scoring machine for the Viking gents, averaging about 22 points per game. Fellow senior guard Kale Boomer is right behind with a 16 point per game average. Both are strong rebounders and lead the team in steals and assists. They are both rugged, hard-nosed defenders.
Senior forward Justin Goldstein has been a breath of fresh air to a team who needs more than two scorers. He has time and time again hit big three point shots in tight games and is a very good defensive player, often times matched up against players 3 to 4 inches taller then he is.
Peter Warren brings his athleticism to the team, and at 5’8” is the smallest center in the league. Not a big scorer, Peter picks up the loose balls coming off the rim and averages about 6 points per game. Again, like Goldstein, Warren is a tough defender and is usually the speediest player on the court. Warren brings a lot of enthusiasm and intangibles to the floor.
The Vikings’ last starter is ninth-grader Rory Bakke. At 5’7” and about 140 pounds soaking wet, he proves time and again to be a fearless rebounder and is getting better at shooting the long ball. Key substitutes and sometime-starters are sophomores Lars Scannell and Richie Furlong. Both are athletic and are getting better each week.
The team should be getting back its center, 6’3” Jonny Jacobsen who has been recovering from knee surgery. At 240 pounds of muscle, Jacobsen will give the Vikings a strong inside presence once he plays his way into shape.
The Vikings next home game is Friday, January 4 against Cromwell. The girls take the floor at 4:45 p.m. against a Cardinal team that is ranked third in the conference and sports a 5-3 overall record.
The boys will play at 6:30 p.m. and face a Cardinal team that has a 2-3 record and is 1-3 in the conference. Go Vikings!
Leave a Reply