Emily Jacobsen (42) easily had her best game as a Viking, scoring two of her 7 points on this play. Emily also led the team with 8 rebounds. She also played a great game on defense, blocking some shots and fighting for every loose ball underneath the basket.
With 10 minutes left to play the Vikings led the Lakeview Christian Academy Lions 53-14 and Head Coach Mitch Dorr inserted all of his younger players into the game. While the Vikings only scored 4 more points in the contest, the outcome was never in doubt. The game was played Tuesday, February 25 at home with the final score 57-38.
Up 12-1 after only a few minutes of play, the game got mildly interesting when Lakeview brought the score to 15-9. At that juncture the Vikings clamped down on defense and held the Lions to 5 points over the next 13 minutes while scoring 38 points of their own.
Senior guard Breana Peterson led the way with some nice steals, layups and made some nice assists to her teammates inside the paint. Suzy Burton, Liz O’Phelan, Essance Haines, Lily Gruber-Schulz, Jami Sjogren, Shauna Blake, Trace McQuatters, Sarah Toftey, Alicia Smith, Bailey Cox, Zoey Anderson and Hannah Toftey also played well in the game.
The Vikings controlled the boards throughout. On one sequence the Vikings shot and rebounded six of their misses before a Viking was fouled. Late in the first half Breana Peterson stole the ball three straight times, twice scoring layups and once getting an assist. It was that kind of night for the Vikings.
Above left: Breana Peterson (13) finished with 12 points against Lakeview Christian. She also contributed 6 assists in the first half. Above right: Not a big scorer, Trace McQuatters (11) is a defensive dynamo and good passer on the court. Her shot attempt was blocked but the Vikings recovered the ball and it was put back and in by a Viking player.
While the Vikings committed few turnovers they repeatedly took the ball away from the Lions with their aggressive man-to-man defense.
Coach Dorr said, “I thought Breana played her best ‘point guard’ play of the year, racking up six assists in the first half.”
When asked about his team’s improved ball handling and passing, Dorr said, “We did move the ball better and became less reliant on our big two (Lily and Breana). But the match-up against LCA helped in that approach.”
Dorr also praised the play of two ninth graders. “I really think that Hannah Toftey and Essance Haines are playing big for us. Their confidence and ability to compete have been tremendous keys to our success the past few weeks.”
Peterson led the Vikings in scoring with 12 points. Suzy Burton and Haines finished with 9 points, Lily Gruber-Schulz had 8 points and Emily Jacobsen, also a ninth grader, finished with 7 points and led the team in rebounding with 8.
The Vikings played Nashwauk- Keewatin at home on Thursday night, February 27 for their last game before the Section 7A girls’ playoffs begin.
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