Lily Gruber-Schulz (left) and Emily Jacobsen (above) were both voted to the Polar League All- Conference team this year by regional coaches.
After getting a first round bye, the second-seeded Section 7A Cook County High School Vikings traveled to Esko on Wednesday, March 2 to face the eighth-seeded Northland Eagles (Remer) and won in a romp, 75-46.
The Vikings jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, going into the half time break up 37-19.
“Our emphasis was on fundamental defense and pushing the ball up the court on offense,” said Head Coach Kelly Senty following her team’s win. “Once the girls settled into the game they took over and played well against Northland.”
Senty had her team switch between playing a zone defense and playing manto man defense, which kept Northland’s offense off balance.
While Northland had four girls in double figures – Kristine Johnson 13, Kali Wake 12, Maddy Shepard 11, and Alexis Cash 11; the Vikings countered with Emily Jacobsen’s 24, Sophie Eliasen’s 23, and Lily Gruber-Schulz with 20. Sarah Toftey also put up 5 points, Hannah Toftey 2, and Bayley Cox 1.
With the win the girls came home to prepare for their Saturday, March 5 match-up against the South Ridge Panthers, which was played at the University of Minnesota Duluth gymnasium at 1 p.m. on February 19.
Season ends against South Ridge
The Vikings lost the Section 7A quarterfinal game to South Ridge 48-41 in a game played at a neutral gym at the University of Minnesota Duluth campus.
This game was a reverse of the last time the two teams met. This time it was the Vikings who took a lead into halftime. Up 10 points, the Vikings knew they had their work cut out for them, but the game looked like it was in hand if they could maintain their energy and discipline.
But South Ridge started the second half with a 5-point run before the Vikings settled down. As the game went on the Vikings seemed to tire and South Ridge went on another 5-point run to tie the score, and then take a 3-point lead. With the game close, late in the game the Vikings were forced to foul and the Panther players hit their free throws, winning by 7 points.
Early foul trouble and poor shooting—especially from the free throw line, which has been a strength for the Vikings this season— haunted the Vikings throughout the game.
Following the loss, Coach Senty said, “We didn’t shoot well in the game. We only shot 37 percent from the free throw line and 30 percent from the field.”
The Vikings high scoring, great rebounding junior center Emily Jacobsen lost valuable minutes of playing time in the first half because of fouls.
“Emily was in foul trouble the first half and sat the last 8 minutes of that first half,” said Senty.
As always, the Vikings played well on defense, and that kept the score close. Senty said her team caused South Ridge to turn the ball over 23 times, normally enough to secure a win, but it doesn’t help much when you are having an off shooting night.
Leading her team one last time, senior forward/guard Lily Gruber-Schulz ended the game with 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 6 steals, and 1 blocked shot. Senior Shauna Blake had 3 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 2 blocked shots. Freshman guard Sophie Eliasen finished with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals while Emily Jacobsen had 8 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals. Junior guard Hannah Toftey ended with 4 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist while Sarah Toftey finished with 2 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist. Junior center Bayley Cox finished with 2 rebounds.
While the Vikings’ season ended earlier than they would have liked, the team provided many nice moments and wins for their fans, ending their season with a 17-8 record.
Senty praised her outgoing seniors for their leadership and dedication to the game of basketball.
“Thank you Lily, Shauna and Joceline for all your time and dedication to this program. I could not have asked for a more invested, hard-working, wonderful senior group.”
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