The Vikings hosted Duluth Marshall on Thursday, February 11 and many younger Vikings had the chance to play. Above: Ninthgrader Theresa Morrin on the foul line. Right: Ninth-grader Leah Utities works her way to the basket.
The Cook County girls’ basketball team won three games in four days last week to improve its overall season record to 20-2. With three wins over Albrook, Duluth Marshall, and McGregor, the Vikings could lock up the number-one seed in the southern half of Section 7A with a strong finish in the final two weeks of the season.
Cook County currently sits in third place in the Polar League Conference standings, behind Barnum and Esko. TheVikings play both of those teams in the final two weeks of play.
On Tuesday, February 8, the Vikings traveled to Albrook to take on the 4-11 Albrook Falcons. Cook County completely dominated the first half, taking a 48-14 lead at halftime. The Falcons could not stop the inside presence of Essa Jacobsen who totally controlled the paint on both ends of the court.
While the Vikings once again played their bench for extended minutes, Cook County rolled to a 71-32 victory. Jacobsen led the Vikings with 20 points. Ashley Deschampe had another solid game, scoring 15 points. Ailee Larson rounded out the Vikings in double figures with 10 points.
Two days later, the Vikings played host to the Duluth Marshall Hilltoppers. Cook County’s full court press was on full display in the first half as the Hilltoppers rarely even got a shot attempt off in the first eight minutes of play. Larson’s defensive pressure led to numerous fast break points in which she scored nine of the Vikings’ first 21 points.
In the final minutes of the first half, the Vikings missed numerous lay-up attempts but still led at the break, 44-9. Duluth Marshall was simply overwhelmed by the athleticism of the Vikings.
It was another second half filled with minutes for the varsity bench. Head Coach T.J. Super was very pleased with his younger Vikings in the second half, as they maintained defensive intensity and held the Hilltoppers to only 11 second-half points. The Vikings won by the final score of 66-20.
Senior guard Christina Nelson was a stabilizing force in both halves of play, as she dished out numerous assists and led the Vikings in scoring, with 15 points. Larson finished with 12 points and Boomer and Deschampe each chipped in 10 points each. Bekah Laky also had a great individual performance off the bench, scoring eight points for the Vikings and hauling down numerous rebounds on the defensive end of the court.
Thenext night, the Vikings traveled to McGregor. The 10-7 Mercuries would prove to be a tough battle for Cook County. Jacobsen sat out the game with a sore knee as Boomer continued to play on a sore ankle. In addition, just minutes into the game, Larson sprained her ankle and had to come out of the game briefly before eventually returning. To make matters worse, the “perfect storm” continued when the Vikings got into foul trouble.
Cook County found itself down by 15 points at one point before rallying to win, 58-51. Because of mid-winter break at school, stats were not available at press time. More on this game will be updated in next week’s edition.
The Vikings played at Wrenshall on Tuesday, February 16 after this edition went to press and they play this Friday in Esko. Look in next week’s edition for all the scores, stats, and highlights.
Leave a Reply