By Staff                                                                                                        

            ABILENE – It was a strong showing for the Smoky Valley girls basketball team in the 2022-23 season opener on the road in Abilene on Friday as they scored a whopping 45-point, 73-39 victory.

            The Lady Vikings ran out to a commanding 17-point, 25-8 lead by the end of the first quarter and held an advantage of 30 points at 53-23 when the teams headed to the halftime break.

            Out scoring Abilene 20-16 in the final two quarters, Smoky Valley cruised to the final 45-point hammering win.

            When looking at the stat sheet one finds that the Lady Viking defense forced Abilene into turning the ball over 24 times.

            Junior Adrian Hazelwood had a spectacular season opener as she led the Lady Vikings in scoring with 25 points that included four three-pointers, took care of things under the basket by grabbing seven rebounds and still found time to lead the team in assists with seven and making five steals on defense.

            Eva Malm, Clara McElroy, and Katja Blanchat all reached double digits as will as they each chipped in with ten points apiece with Tinley Scott just missed making it five in double figures with nine points.

            Blanchat tied with Hazelwood in leading the team in rebounds as she hauled in seven as well while Malm also grabbed five steals on defense.

            On Tuesday the Lady Vikings will once again be on the road for a tangle with Southeast of Saline before making their 2022-23 home debut on Friday by hosting Concordia.

SMOKY VALLEY LADY VIKINGS at Abilene

SCORING: LADY VIKINGS 25-28-16-4=73; Abilene 8-15-9-7=39

TEAM STATS:

LADY VIKINGS: FGs – 25/60; 3-PTs – 11/24; FTs – 12/16; AST – 18; RBs – 34; FLs – 21; TOs – 9; STLs – 16; BLKs – 1.

Abilene: FGs – 14/34; 3-PTs – 1/7; FTs – 10/23; AST – 8; RBs – 27; FLs – 16; TOs – 24; STLs – 3; BLKs – 0.

LADY VIKING INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS:

Scoring: Adrian Hazelwood – 25; Eva Malm – 10; Clara McElroy – 10; Katja Blanchat – 10; Tinley Scott – 9; Sophia Fruits – 4; Breanne Peters – 3; Trista Spitler – 2.

3-Pointers: Hazelwood – 4; Scott – 3; Malm, McElroy – 2.

Assists: Hazelwood – 7; Malm – 4; McElroy – 3; Peters – 2.

Rebounds: Hazelwood, Blanchat  – 7; Peters – 4; Fruits, McElroy – 3.

Steals: Hazelwood, Malm – 5; McElroy, Blanchat – 2.

Blocked Shots: Hazelwood.

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)