Hannah Toftey (13) made a quick move, surprising her smiling defender and leaving her in the dust as she cut to the basket.
Coming into the game against 1-6 Barnum, the Vikings had won three games in a row and looked to make it four straight. But playing in front of Barnum’s hometown fans on January 8, the Vikings had to dig deep to make it four in a row. It wasn’t easy, not by a long shot.
Cook County used a 24-3 run in the first half to take a 38-32 lead into the half time break, but Barnum wasn’t going away. Inside the lane, the game was very physical as the referees let the kids play, with both teams fighting for position.
Senior guard/forward Lily Gruber- Schulz (24 points) drove the lane and scored on lay-ups or short jumpers or fed the ball to the Vikings’ junior center Emily Jacobsen who ended her night with 21 points. The Vikings held a tenuous two-point lead late in the game as Barnum scored on 3-point shots and the Vikings came back down the court to shoot a two or get fouled inside, sending the foul shooter to the line. Coming down the stretch, Jacobsen and Gruber-Schulz hit four straight free throws to seal the 63-60 win for the Vikings.
Left: “A little elbow room, please.” Lily Gruber-Schulz (10) had a monster night against Cherry, scoring 24 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. Right: Showing nice jump shooting form, Sophie Eliasen scored two of her six points in the game against Cherry.
With the win the Vikings stopped a losing streak that extends to at least 2003 to the always-tough Barnum Bombers.
Gruber-Schulz led the team with 24 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Jacobsen finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds and two steals. Hannah Toftey ended her night with four points, two rebounds and one assist while her twin sister Sarah tallied three points, three rebounds, two assists and three steals. Shauna Blake had five points, two rebounds and three assists while Sophie Eliasen finished with six points, one rebound and one steal. Baily Cox pulled down one rebound in her time on the floor.
“The girls handled the intensity and physical play of the game with composure and focus,” said Head Coach Kelly Senty. “Girls hit some key shots in this close game which was great to see.”
Overall the Vikings shot 52 percent from the field and their free throw percentage was 74 percent. “Those are great numbers to see,” said Senty.
Emily Miletich (20 points) and Bailey Wheeler (18 points) led Barnum.
Vikings beat Cherry 48-40
Cherry’s 10-3 girls’ basketball team blew into Grand Marais on a frigid, windy January 12 night and expected to go home 11-3, but a vastly improving Viking team had something to say about that.
Early in the game the Cherry Tigers went on a 21-4 run to quiet the Vikings’ hometown crowd, but the Vikings slowly fought back, and went into the locker room only down by 6 points.
High scoring Gruber-Schulz took on a different role in this game. The talented senior forward/guard distributed the ball to her teammates and ended her night with 6 points. She was a calming force on the floor on offense, and caused calamity on the boards for the tall Tigers in the battle for rebounds.
“Lily handled the ball pressure well offensively and showed some great leadership and direction throughout the game,” said Senty.
The Vikings won the battle of the boards, picking up 9 offensive rebounds in the first half alone. Although Gruber-Schulz (16 rebounds) and Emily Jacobsen (11 boards) picked up most of the rebounds, the Vikings’ three smallest players Sophie Eliasen, Sarah Toftey and Hannah Toftey, also nabbed some big rebounds in the contest.
Midway through the second half the Vikings took a one-point lead and never looked back. Sarah Toftey made back-to-back 3-point shots while Sophie Eliasen hit two clutch free throws late in the game.
Defensively Cherry used a full-court press and then would switch to man-to-man or zone. The Vikings used a little full court press of their own, but otherwise mostly stayed in their 3-2 zone.
Sophie Eliasen and Emily Jacobsen each scored 17 points to lead the Vikings in scoring. Hannah Toftey netted 2 points and grabbed 5 rebounds; Sarah Tofte scored 6 points and pulled down 5 boards; Shauna Blake grabbed one rebound and played great defense and Gruber-Schulz ended with 6 points, 16 boards, 4 assists and 3 blocked shots.
“Our defense is really starting to come together,” said Coach Senty. “The girls are moving well as a team. I am extremely impressed with the team’s ability to battle back after being down by 15 early in the first half.
“As we started to make some key shots, Sarah and Sophie hitting their outside shots and Emily converting on a two point shot to tie the game. …And then converted her free throw, the energy in the gym exploded which energized the girls even more.
The Vikings played Ely at home after press time on Saturday, January 16 at noon and then don’t come back home again until January 22 when they face the Carlton Bulldogs. That game starts at 6:30 p.m.
Come out and cheer on your Vikings!
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