Above: Driving to the basket, Sarah Toftey didn’t have time to chat with the defender as she drove for two points. Left: Her “eyes on the prize,” Sophie Eliasen sails through the lane to score two points. Eliasen tallied 14 points against Cherry.
The Cook County High School girls’ basketball team traveled to Two Harbors on January 6 to face a well-polished Agate team for a second time this season. On December 9 the Agates beat the Vikings 62-35 on the Vikings’ home floor.
This time around, Two Harbors jumped out to an early lead, but the Vikings kept the score close. “We have mental lapses and then play hard and intensely when we are down and then need to catch up from being behind,” said head coach Kelly Senty. “We worked on pressing when behind and using fouls to our advantage to slow the game down and stop the clock.”
The Vikings were never really out of the match, but could never quite close the 10-point gap that the Agates had built early. In the end, the Viking fell 47-38.
With the loss, the Vikings’ record is now 2-4. Meanwhile, Two Harbors sports a perfect 9-0 mark.
Emily Jacobsen was the Vikings’ high scorer with 17 points. Sophie Eliasen netted 6 points, Sarah Toftey netted 7, Sophie Eliasen scored 6, Bayley Cox 6, and Hannah Toftey 2.
Vikings lose to Cherry
On Tuesday, January 10 the Vikings traveled to Cherry to face the young, but talented Cherry Tigers.
Cherry used a fullcourt press to force early Viking turnovers and jumped out to a lead. When the Vikings could get the ball inside to senior center Emily Jacobsen, she would often score, but Jacobsen’s 24 points weren’t enough to give the Vikings a win and the Vikings fell 66-54. Sophie Eliasen tallied 14 points, Abbie Crawford 5, Bayley Cox 4, Sarah Toftey 3, and Maya McHugh 2.
After the game, Vikings’ head coach Kelly Senty said, “We struggled initially with keeping the intensity of the game consistently. The girls did a good job of battling back to get within two points during the second half, but then struggled with taking care of the basketball and missing box outs that led to easy points for Cherry.
“I was impressed with Sarah Toftey who is starting to drive and look for her shot more.”
January is a big month of basketball games for the Vikings. As the team heads into the thick of their schedule, Coach Senty said the last two games have helped the team.
“The girls have learned a lot over these past two games, and we have focused on game situations for future games that might be close and how to stop the clock and get to the free throw line as well as when to foul and what defenses we need for closer games.”
The Vikings’ next game at home will be played on January 13 against Floodwood at 6:30 p.m. Come out and cheer for your Vikings!
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