By William / www.mcpherson-county-ks.com

LARNED = The Smoky Valley girls went on the road Friday and then rode the double double by Breanna Priddy to score a 30-point, 49-19 victory over Larned.

“The girls should be very proud of themselves,” pointed out Lady Viking head coach Jason Drouillard. “This was a great bounce back game after a tough loss to Hillsboro on Tuesday. They played hard and played as a team. I was pleased with the number of different scorers in the game as the girls did an excellent job of spreading the wealth.”

After holding on to just a two-point, 9-7 advantage at the end of the first quarter, Smoky Valley out scored Larned 17-4 in the second stanza to take a commanding 16-point, 26-11 lead into the halftime break.

After the intermission, the Lady Vikings pushed their lead to 24 points by the end of the third before closing out with the final 30-point win.

 While neither team shot lights out, the Lady Vikings did hold a huge advantage in the paint and out rebounded Larned 39-25 while also swiping 16 steals on defense.

Breanna Priddy was the star of the game for the Lady Vikings as she recorded a double double with 14 points and 12 rebounds while also swiping four steals which tied for the team leader with Keira Mullen.

Mullen also chipped in with seven rebounds and nine points while both Abby Rose and Adrian Hazelwood each had eight points and combined for 13 rebounds.

Coach Drouillard continued reflecting on the game by talking about some of the individual Lady Vikings when he said, “Loved the production that Breanna (Priddy) provided. She also shot exceedingly well from the free throw line which helped keep our offense going throughout the game. Gracie (Lambert) had some great moments as her constant hustle after every loose ball and rebounding was great throughout the night. Her type of awareness and unselfishness is the kind of great basketball that will take this team to another level. Keira (Mullen) also had a great night shooting and defending. She was an animal on both sides, crashing the boards and just causing constant havoc.”

The coach even pointed out a particular play as one of the game highlights, when Lambert had a chance for an open three pointer but instead made a great read and when she saw the defender rushing out to closeout on her, she made the extra pass to an open teammate who then drained a three herself.

Drouillard concluded his reflections by adding, “Overall, I loved what I saw from the whole team. They were unselfish, they played hard, and played as a complete unit. We will need to use that momentum to carry us into what will be a big week for us. We as coaches are immensely proud of these girls.”

With the big win under their belt, the Lady Vikings, who came into the came ranked #10 in Class 3A, are now 11-4 for the season as they prep for week where they go on the road again Tuesday to battle with Lyons before returning home on Friday and tangle with Nickerson.

SCORING                   1          2          3          4          FINAL

LADY VIKINGS          9          17       13       10       49

Larned                       7          4          4          4          19

TEAM STATS =

Larned = FG 6/36 (17%); 3-PTR 1/13 (8%); FT 6/14 (43%); AST 6; REBS 25; TO 23; STLS 11; BLK 0; PF 18.

SMOKY VALLEY LADY VIKINGS = FG 13/41 (32%); 3-PTR 8/24 (33%); FT 15/20 (75%); AST 10; REBS 39; TO 18; STLS 16; BLK 0; PF 13.

SMOKY VALLEY LADY VIKINGS INDIVIDUAL SCORING/STAT LEADERS =

Scoring (49 total points) = Breanna Priddy – 14; Keira Mullen – 9; Abby Rose – 8; Adrian Hazelwood – 8; Gracie Lambert – 5; Tinley Scott – 3; Karee Adam – 2.

3-Pointers Made (8) = Mullen, Rose – 2; Priddy, Hazelwood, Lambert, Scott – 1.

Assists (10) = Rose, Lambert – 3.

Rebounds (39) = Priddy – 12; Rose – 7; Hazelwood – 6; Scott – 3.

Steals (16) = Priddy, Mullen – 4; Rose, Hazelwood, Lambert – 2.