Lady Vikings offense struggles against Eagles

In the first quarter of Friday’s game with the AHSTW Vikings girls basketball team trailing 5-2, Sophomore Viking Bella Lamp made a shot from 3-point range tying the game at five, but following Lamp’s shot, the Eagles offense erupted going on an 18-0 that went into the second quarter en route to a 54-19 win, handing the Vikings their second loss.

“I give Underwood a lot of credit,” said Viking Head Coach Jason McCall. “They came out super fiery and they played up and down really well. They forced some pressure on us early with some transition points. It’s a good learning experience for a young group to understand those will be some of the things that do kill you and put you on the wrong side of a run.”

The Eagles opened the game scoring the first baskets courtesy of Carly Nelson and Mary Stephens, but Junior Viking Makenna Paulsen was able to cut the lead in half with the Vikings first basket of the game.

Sophomore Viking Bella Lamp would tie the game at five with a 3-pointer, but the Eagles offense went on an 18-0 that started with a bucket from Nelson later ended in the second quarter with a shot from Ruby Irwin before Lamp would make another 3-pointer, putting the Vikings down 23-8.

“I kind of wanted them to play through it a little bit allowing them to learn how to stay composed out there,” McCall said. “They started knocking down shots and transition points were pretty big. It was kind of a blur to see it was tied and look up and realize you’re in a little bit of a deficit.”

The final shot of the half came from Sophomore Macey Goshorn, but the Vikings still trailed 28-13. It took almost half the quarter for the first bucket to be made in the third quarter, but it came Senior Eagle Maddy Irwin, followed by another basket from Stephens forcing a timeout from McCall.

When play resumed, the Eagles continued to make shot with back-to-back 3-pointers coming from Sophomore Ainsley Roberts and Stephens. The Vikings managed to score a few points via free throws from Junior Ava Paulsen and Freshman Kennedy Wyman, but the final shot of the quarter came from Roberts from 3-point range putting her team up 42-16 entering the final quarter.

The Eagles offense continued to stay in a good shooting rhythm into the fourth quarter outscoring the Vikings 12-3 with a 3-pointer from Roberts, along with mid-range jump shots from Stephens, Nelson, and Ruby Irwin as they earned their first win and handed the Vikings their second loss.

The Vikings will head out on the road Tuesday, where they will take on the 0-3 Tri-Center Trojans. The Trojans are led by Senior Quincey Schneckloth, averaging 14 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game.

“The nice thing about a basketball season is you can move onto the next one especially at this time in December,” McCall said. “Getting back out there Tuesday playing another Western Iowa Conference opponent, kind of seeing where you’re at. Getting back in that Tuesday and Friday rhythm will be good for us.”

 
 

 

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