Jessica Berg-Collman (3) and Breana Peterson (1) are both getting lots of time playing for the varsity this year. The two are both athletic and quick and are maturing as basketball players before the legions of Viking fans.
With the announcement that senior guard Molly Zafft was out (maybe for the year) due to a shoulder injury, the long ride to face the highly state rated 3A Esko Eskimos must have seemed that much longer for the Cook County girls’ basketball team as they traveled to Esko on Thursday, December 15.
The Vikings were going up against an experienced Esko team led by one of the top players in the nation in 6’8” center Savanah Trapp, who set a Minnesota all-time record for blocked shots last year as a sophomore. From top to bottom, Esko is loaded with great athletes and is one of the favorites to win the class 3A state championship along with Braham, Minnesota.
So just how did the much smaller, inexperienced Vikings take a 22-18 lead into the half-time break? And how did they hold Trapp, who received a technical foul in warm-ups the week before for dunking the ball in a game against the Silver Bay Mariners, to a total of 17 points for the game?
Was it an early Christmas miracle in the offing? Could they stop the Eskimos the whole game?
Not quite, but the girls showed that when they play with discipline, they can stay with anybody. By using a slowdown offense and a tenacious defense and boxing out when the ball went up on the defensive end, the Vikings were able to push Esko, falling 57-41 after tiring in the second half.
For the first half of the contest the Vikings only turned the ball over 5 times, working the ball around to get great looks at the basket. Senior guard Ashley Deschampe led the way with 9 rebounds and 11 points at the half.
According to Head Coach T.J. Super the Vikings struggled in the second half to keep Trapp out of the paint and didn’t take care of the ball.
“Trapp scored three of Esko’s first 8 points and the Vikings turned the ball over on 7 of their first 10 possessions of the second half,” said Super, adding that the Vikings turned the ball over 15 times in the half, “which basically sealed our fate.”
One of the highlights in the second half was the play of Theresa Morrin. “Theresa sped up in the second half, grabbing 7 offensive rebounds, finishing with 11 for the game, the same amount as Ashley,” said Super.
For the game Deschampe led the Vikings with 20 points, 18 of them coming off of 3-point shots. She also did a great job of handling the ball and distributing it to open players. Deschampe also rebounded well and played tough defense.
Standing 5’7”, senior forward Bekah Laky is more than a foot shorter than Trapp, but that didn’t stop her from getting between her taller opponent and the basket, and it didn’t stop her from hounding Trapp all night long. Laky, who is the steadiest Viking player, also scored 9 points in the contest to go along with numerous rebounds.
Theresa Morrin also played a great game, hitting the boards, playing lockdown defense, and scoring 7 points. Breanna Peterson scored 3 points and Jessica Berg-Collman scored 2 points to round out the scoring for the Vikings.
Although Zafft will be greatly missed, the Vikings got an early Christmas present when Taylor Ryden arrived back in school after being out with a medical issue. Ryden will rejoin the team after Christmas and should play her way back into shape by the time the tournament starts.
Vikings lose to Rangers
Both Viking girls’ and boys’ basketball teams have been putting on more miles than a traveling circus lately as they navigate their way through a schedule that includes six road trips in a row. The latest venture took them to the 6th ranked team in Class A, the Mountain Iron-Buhl Rangers, on Monday, December 19.
In what has to be the sloppiest game of the season for the road-weary Vikings, the girls turned the ball over repeatedly, falling behind 10-2 before Bekah Laky brought the Vikings to within 5, but a late 14-2 run gave the Rangers a 38-18 lead at the half. The Vikings turned the ball over 12 times in the first half, which led to numerous fast break baskets by the MIB players.
According to Super, “The second half saw a much calmer team take care of the ball.
“Eighth-grader Lily Gruber-Schultz played a solid second half, taking care of the basketball and rebounding hard. Morrin also rebounded well in the second half, although she and Deschampe both struggled to find their shooting stroke,” Super said.
While the Vikings settled down in the second half and outscored MIB 18-17, it wasn’t enough to make up for the first half of play and they lost 55-36. After starting out 3-0 the girls’ record now stands at 3-3.
For the game Theresa Morrin scored 8 points, Breanna Peterson added 7 points. Bekah Laky tallied 6 points and Lily Gruber-Shultz put in 2 points for the Vikings.
In what may be a recurring theme for the rest of the conference, MIB players double-teamed senior guard Ashley Deschampe all night long, holding her to 13 points, about 10 points below her average.
The girls now head into the Ely Christmas tournament on December 29 and 30. The Vikings will take on the Ely Timberwolves at 6:45 on the 29th and will then play Northwoods or Northeast Range, depending on the outcome of the first day’s games.
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