Left: Bekah Laky scored 2 of her 19 points against Carlton on this basket. Above left: When she’s not stealing the ball or slashing to the basket for a hard earned lay-up, Theresa Morrin (23) is passing the ball to a teammate. Above right: Playing at her usual 100 mile an hour pace, Leah Utities (4) gets ready to pivot around her defender and make a nice pass.
The last time the Vikings faced the North East Range Nighthawks was during the Ely Christmas tournament and it wasn’t a good night for the Vikings as they lost by 25 points.
On Thursday, January 26, the Vikings traveled to Babbitt to face the Nighthawks again, and although they lost, it was a much better game.
The first half of play was a bit ragged for the Vikings, who turned the ball over 8 times in the first 12 minutes of play. Meanwhile, the Nighthawks started fast out of the gate by hitting a couple of early 3-point baskets and building a 12-point lead at the half.
The second half opened pretty much like the first half, with the Nighthawks hitting a 3-point shot to extend their lead to 15 points.
At this juncture the Vikings stepped up their defense and forced several turnovers. But the Nighthawks were able to neutralize many of them because of their defense.
Senior guard Ashley Deschampe stole the ball three straight times and the Nighthawks were able to recover on those breakaways and block the Vikings’ shots on the other end of the court.
Still, despite the height advantage of the Nighthawks and their aggressive defense, the Vikings whittled away at the lead and got it to within 5 points with a couple of minutes to play. But one more big 3-point basket put their foes up by 8 and the Vikings were never able to get closer than 6 points, losing 46-39.
Ashley Deschampe led the Vikings in scoring with 17 points. Ashley was followed by Breana Peterson with 9 points. Theresa Morrin had 5, Lily Gruber Schulz netted 4 and both Kaitlynn Linnell and Leah Utities each had 2 points.
Moving on to beat Carlton
What a difference a day makes. The Vikings faced the Carlton Bulldogs at home the night after playing in Babbitt, and the results were much different.
It was also parent’s night, with the parents being honored between the varsity boys’ game and varsity girls’ game.
The girls came out to the music blasting and a dazzling light show during the introductions, and once the game started, the lights shone bright on the Vikings.
Carlton came ready to play. The first half was a battle royal with each team trading baskets.
The Vikings held the lead all of the first half, but never by more than 6 points. They took a 30-26 lead into halftime and it seemed like it was going to be a long night.
The second half would prove to be much different. The Vikings came out pressing and forced Carlton into a plethora of turnovers and rushed shots. One might say they ‘dogged the dogs.’ Those miscues led to easy baskets by the Vikings, who went on a 25-6 run that all but ended the game.
Senior guard Ashley Deschampe once again led the Vikings, scoring 29 points, four of them 3-pointers in the second half. She also grabbed 7 rebounds and made many fine defensive stops.
When Carlton came out to take away Deschampe’s shot, the Vikings worked the ball in to senior forward Bekah Laky, who scored a careerbest 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Junior guard Theresa Morrin also played great defense and scored 14 points while pulling down 9 rebounds. Eighth-grade center Lily Gruber-Schulz once again displayed fine defensive work while pulling down 11 rebounds
The Vikings outscored Carlton 38-16 over the second half of play and are now 11-7 on the year.
Another win over Silver Bay
The game against the Mariners in Silver Bay was over before it started. The Vikings came out with full-court pressure on the Mariners’ home court and stopped the Mariners in their tracks. When the Vikings weren’t stealing the ball they were intercepting passes or pulling down rebounds, all of which led to easy lay-ups or short shots for the fast paced Vikings offense.
As for the 3-point shot, the Vikings didn’t hit one during the game. Not that it mattered in a contest where they could get to the basket at will.
Although the Vikings led 42-5 at the half, Head Coach T.J. Super pulled back his star players and let the younger kids contribute. This was a game where conference scoring leader Ashley Deschampe could have padded her 23-point per game average and hit for 50, but instead she scored 18 points and Super rested her and some of the other varsity players.
Super put the brakes on at halftime and gave some younger players varsity minutes while the Vikings went on to win 66-20.
Besides Deschampe’s 18 points, Theresa Morrin scored 14, Lily Gruber-Schulz 10, Jessica Berg-Collman 8, Bekah Laky 6, Breanna Peterson 4, and Deedra Mongan 2.
The girls play Barnum, which sports a 13-2 record, on Friday, Feb. 3 at 4:45 at home.
They face Duluth Marshall on Thursday, Feb. 9 at 6:30 also at home. Come out and cheer on your Vikings!
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