Far left: Wearing jersey number 10, Abbie Crawford displayed nice form when she went up for a lay-up against the Wrenshall Wrens. Above: In hot pursuit, Maya McHugh ran down the Wren ball handler and forced a turnover. Left: Blond hair trailing her, fast footed Sophie Eliasen drives for two points against the Wrens.
Looking like it was their first game of the season [because it was their first game of the season] the CCHS Vikings’ girls’ basketball team had a hard time finding their rhythm again the visiting Two Harbors Agate squad which was playing its fourth game of the season last Friday night.
Two Harbors came out with a simple strategy on defense. When the Vikings passed the ball in to senior center Emily Jacobsen,two or three Agate defenders collapsed on her and smothered her. Last year Jacobsen averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Vikings. As the top returning scorer and rebounder, the Agates focused on Jacobsen and forced other players to shoot.
The Vikings turned the ball over on their first two possessions, and the Agates converted those turnovers into points. Within 3 minutes the Vikings trailed 10-2. The Vikings continued to fall behind and were down 27-9 before they made an excellent run of their own. Over the last 10 minutes of the first half, the Vikings held the Agates to 6 points while scoring 12. Baskets by Abbie Crawford, Emily Jacobsen (2), Sophie Eliasen and Sara Toftey propelled this run, and the Vikings went into the locker room down 33-22, but the team had played its way back into contention.
Unfortunately for the Vikings, the Agates began the second half the way they had to open the game. Tori Bolt, the Agates 6’ sophomore center, hit back-to-back 3-point shots and the Agates quickly jumped to a 50-31 lead. The young Vikings fell 62-35 to a senior-laden Two Harbors squad. Out of the 13 kids on the roster, 9 are seniors. Meanwhile, the Vikings have four seniors on their roster of 10 players.
Vikings beat Wrenshall
Using a stifling defense Cook County wasted little time in getting a big lead on the visiting Wrenshall Wrens last Tuesday night. The Vikings dominated the game in every aspect, winning the rebounding contest, the turnover contest, and most importantly, the contest to see who could score more points. Senior center Emily Jacobsen and sophomore guard Sophie Eliasen led the Viking attack with 18 points each. All of the Vikings saw action, as head coach Kelly Senty repeatedly sent in players to give them some playing time.
The Vikings won the game 65-21.
Next up for the Vikings is a home game on Friday, December 16 versus South Ridge. The girls’ take the floor at 6:30 p.m.
Going into the Christmas break, the girls will play in the holiday tournament in Two Harbors on December 29-30. The Vikings come home to play Silver Bay on January 3 with action starting at 4:45 p.m. Come out and cheer on your Vikings!
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