Taylor Ryden (11) guards Esko’s Danielle Salo (34) as Bekah Laky (21) guards Esko’s Savanna Trapp. Laky, who stands 5’ 6”, comes up to the armpits of Trapp, who is 6’ 8”.
By the time the night was over, the Cook County High School girls’ basketball players could be excused if they were all suffering from stiff necks.
Such is the case when you face a 6-foot-8-inch player who, when her arms were fully extended, seemed to scrape the dust from the moon.
Welcome to the world of Esko’s sophomore Savanna Trapp, one of the tallest high school girl basketball players in the nation.
The Vikings faced Esko at home on Monday night, Dec. 13 at 6:30 p.m.
Still, the Vikings came into the game with a boatload of talent on their side of the ball. And Floodwood, their main rival in conference, took Esko into overtime earlier this year before losing. So the kids had every reason to believe they could stay with Esko. But it didn’t happen on this night, despite great effort on their part.
The ball didn’t fall; even when they had lay-ups, the ball just wouldn’t go into the hole. So, despite playing hard-nosed defense and staying out of Trapp’s way, the Vikings fell 56-36 to the Eskimos.
Ailee Larson gets ready to whirl past Esko’s Alyson Glumac. Despite Ailee’s great floor play, the Vikings weren’t able to convert many of their lay-ups and lost to Esko last Monday night 56-36.
Just before halftime the Vikings were down 27-9 when they went on a brief run. Brea Boomer scored two baskets and Molly Zafft scored an easy layup. All of these points came off of good defensive stops and steals that opened the door—even if it was just a crack—for the Vikings. Ailee Larson had one last try from three-point range that just rimmed out at the buzzer, and the Vikings trailed 27-15 at the half.
Ashley Deschampe started the second half of play with a three pointer to cut Esko’s lead to 9 points. Trapp came back with a short hook shot and Boomer scored on a beautiful scoop shot under Trapp.
Esko went right back to Trapp down low, and she was fouled. Trapp hit both of her free throws, which brought Esko’s lead to 33-20.
Esko went into a full court press and slowly pulled away from the Vikings. With the score 41-24, Esko switched to a match-up zone and kept forcing turnovers. The closest the Vikings would come was on a three-pointer by Deschampe and a two-point basket by Theresa Morrin, which cut the score to 45-29.
Leading scorer for the Vikings was Ashley Deschampe, who scored 12 points on the night. Brea Boomer chipped in 12, Theresa Morrin added 6 points, and Bekah Laky had 4, Ailee Larson had 3 and Molly Zafftadded 2 points. Deschampe hit two three-point goals and Larson one three-pointer for the game. Esko’s Savanna Trapp led all scorers with 16 points.
Girls beat Two Harbors 57-29
The CCHS girl’s basketball team didn’t have any time to worry about their loss to Esko because the next night they faced the Two Harbors Agates at home.
Despite fatigued legs, the Vikings came out and out-hustled the Agates, getting to loose balls and winning the battle on the boards. Because of the way the Vikings attacked the basket, the girls got to the free throw line numerous times, going 8-15 from the charity stripe.
The Vikings played an aggressive defense, stealing the ball often by taking away the Agates’ passing lanes. The girls also hit the offensive boards hard, scoring on second and third attempts. Something they didn’t do the night before against Esko.
Ailee Larson was especially effective on defense and led all Viking scorers with 15 points, including one threepointer. Theresa Morrin and Brea Boomer each had 10 points and Ashley Deschampe hit for 8 points. Taylor Ryden scored for 4 points while Bekah Laky, Molly Zafft and Ali Iverson each added 2 points.
The Vikings played Warroad on Thursday at home, then faced Cromwell at 6:30 on Friday, Dec. 17 at home. On Monday, Dec. 20, the girls play Mountain Iron- Buhl at home. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. Thegirls play a fun, fast-paced brand of basketball. Come out and watch and cheer them on. Go Vikings!
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