By William / www.mcpherson-county-ks.com
LINDSBORG – The Smoky Valley girls were looking to continue their season on Tuesday and they did just that as they hosted Ellsworth in the first round of the Class 3A state playoffs, winning by 21, 54-33.
The Lady Vikings jumped out to an early 12-4 lead by the end of the first quarter before Ellsworth was able to knock a point off the deficit, leaving Smoky Valley with a seven-point, 23-16 advantage heading into the halftime break.
Coming out of the intermission, the Lady Vikings outscored Ellsworth 12-6 in the third quarter and 19-11 in the fourth to finish off their final 21-point victory.
As a team, Smoky Valley connected on 44% of their field goal attempts while Ellsworth struggled and hit just 23%.
Tinley Scott had the hot hand on offense for the Lady Vikings and led the team with 16 points which included connecting on three three-pointers. Keira Mullen chipped in with 12 while Breanna Priddy recorded a double-double by scoring 10 points and leading the team on the boards by grabbing 11 rebounds.
Now 15-6 for the season, the Lady Vikings will play again on Friday in Minneapolis against Riley County who scored a 42-33 win on Tuesday over sub-state host Minneapolis. Riley County will enter the game with a record of 9-10.
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 FINAL
Ellsworth 4 12 6 11 33
LADY VIKINGS 12 11 12 19 54
Ellsworth Team Stats: FG 10/44; 3-PTR 4/14; FT 9/12; AST 4; REBS 30; TO 21; STLS 4; BLK 0; PF 10.
SMOKY VALLEY LADY VIKING TEAM STATS: FG 20/45; 3-PTR 5/17; FT 9/11; AST 11; REBS 28; TO 14; STLS 10; BLK 2; PF 11.
SMOKY VALLEY LADY VIKINGS INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS: Scoring (54 total points): Tinley Scott – 16; Keira Mullen – 12; Breanna Priddy – 10; Gracie Lambert – 6; Adrian Hazelwood – 6; Abby Rose – 3; Katja Blanchat – 1. 3-Pointers Made (5): Scott – 3; Priddy, Rose – 1. Assists: Hazelwood – 4; Rose – 3; Scott – 2. Rebounds: Priddy – 11; Mullen – 5; Rose, Blanchat – 3; Hazelwood – 2. Steals: Hazelwood – 3; Scott – 2. Blocked Shots: Blanchat – 2.