Not a big scorer, team captain Alyssa Spry wasn’t afraid to shoot if she was open. Photo courtesy of Bruce Johnson
After eight minutes of play the Vikings trailed Carlton 16-13, and it looked like it was going to be a long night for the Cook County girls’ basketball team.
One thing for sure, the 13-10 Carlton Bulldogs came to play.
Sophomore forward Rhonnie Poyirier scored the Vikings first five points in the Section 7A playoff game played at home on Thursday, February 27 in front of a packed house. Her sister, Ariana scored the next four points and then Paisley Smith added four straight points. However, Carlton shooters made some long threes and got to the basket for a couple of easy layups. The two teams continued to go toe-to-toe and were tied 16-16 when senior guard Abbie Crawford went down with a knee injury at the 9:30 mark of the first half. This was bad news for the Vikings who looked like they lost their best deep threat on offense and a strong defensive player.
Still, the Vikings battled hard and led 20-19 when Rhonnie made a two-point basket followed by a long three from Ariana. Carlton came back with a deep three to make it 25-22 and then the Vikings went on a 13-point run.
Ariana made a free throw and then stole the ball and made a layup. Abbie Crawford returned to the game with 2:25 to play in the first half and promptly hit a long three. Ninth grader Mackenzie Fairbanks was fouled and made one free throw and Ariana came back with three more two-point baskets to send the Vikings into halftime up 38-22.
The Vikings began the second half the way they ended the first half and continued to pull away from the Bulldogs, winning 72-42.
Four Vikings finished in double figures. Ariana Poyirier led all scorers with 21 points. Paisley Smith finished with 17 points, Rhonnie Poyirier 16 points and Abbie Crawford 10 points. Alyssa Spry ended her night with six points, Katie Peck had three and Makenzie Fairbanks one point in the contest.
Alaina Bennett led Carlton with 18 points.
The Vikings didn’t have long to celebrate because on Saturday they had to travel to Duluth to face the Mountain Iron-Buhl (MIB) Rangers, who once again are ranked near the top of the polls in Minnesota Class A girls’ basketball.
Still, as a team, this was the best game the Vikings played all year. Going up against MIB would be a learning experience, and something to build on for next year.
Vikings fall to MIB Rangers
The Vikings faced a tall order in their Section 7A quarterfinal game against the Mountain Iron-Buhl Rangers, who are ranked fifth in Class A.
The game was played at UMD in the Ralph Romano Gymnasium.
Using their stifling man defense and hot three-point shooting, the Rangers raced to a 47-18 halftime lead. The Vikings scored 17-second half points and fell 78-35.
“This was a tough way to end the season after such a phenomenal game against Carlton,” said Coach Kelly Hawsen. “The girls had a tough time finding their rhythm and we had some early foul trouble.”
“However, UMD is such a great place to play and what a supportive community we had at both the home playoff game against Carlton and the many fans who traveled to UMD.”
Ariana Poirier was the only Viking to score in double figures, tallying 15 points. Rhonnie Poyirier finished with eight points, Paisley Smith four points, Abbie Crawford four points, Katie Peck two points and Makenzie Fairbanks had two points in the contest.
Three Rangers scored in double figures. Jordan Zubich finished with 18 points, Brooks Niska 14 and Sage Ganyo 13 points to lead the Rangers in scoring. Seven different Ranger players made three-point shots in the game.
The Vikings ended their season with a 9-11 record. Abbie Crawford led the team in scoring with an 11.4 points per game average. Ariana Poyirier finished with a 10.2 points per game scoring average and her sister Rhonnie was next with 7.3 points per game average.
While the Vikings’ season ended, the Rangers moved on to play Cherry (22-6) on Monday, March 2 in the Ralph Romano Gym.
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