LADY VIKINGS NIPPED BY SE OF SALINE, 48-46

By Staff

            GYPSUM – Close but short was the story on Tuesday for the Smoky Valley girls as they went on the road to tangle with ninth-ranked Southeast of Saline and came home with a heartbreaking, two-point loss, 48-46.

            The Lady Vikings now stand 1-1 for the season as they prep for Friday when they play host to Concordia.

            Smoky Valley held a four-point, 12-8 lead at the end of the first quarter before going cold in the second quarter allowing Southeast of Saline to out score them by 10 and take a 25-19 advantage heading into the halftime break.

            After chiseling three points off the lead in the third quarter to trail just 37-34, the Lady Vikings came up two points short in the final stanza and took the final two-point loss.

            While the Lady Vikings out rebounded Southeast of Saline 38-31, neither team did well with ball handling as Smoky Valley recorded 23 turnovers and Southeast of Saline turned it over 19 times.

            Katja Blanchat had a big game for Smoky Valley, recording a double-double with 11 points and a whopping 17 rebounds. Tinley Scott also reached double digits in scoring with 11 as well while Eva Malm, Clara McElroy and Adrian Hazelwood each chipped in with seven points each.

            Hazelwood and McElroy helped out in the paint by pulling down 13 rebounds between them with Hazelwood also recording team highs in the game with four assists, three stelas and a pair of blocked shots.

SMOKY VALLEY LADY VIKINGS at Southeast of Saline

SCORING: LADY VIKINGS 12-7-15-12=46; Southeast of Saline 8-17-12-11=48.

TEAM STATS:

LADY VIKING: 2-FGs – 10/32; 3-PTs – 8/24; FTs – 2/6; AST – 12; REBs – 38 (18/20); FLs – 14; TO – 23; STLs – 9; BLKs – 6.

Southeast of Saline: 2-FGs – 16/39; 3-PTs – 5/16; FTs – 1/5; AST – 11; REBs – 31; FLs – 9; TO – 19; STLs – 3; BLKs – 1.

LADY VIKING INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS:

Scoring: Katja Blanchat – 11; Tinley Scott – 11; Eva Malm – 7; Clara McElroy – 7; Adrian Hazelwood – 7; Breanne Peters – 3.

3-Pointers Made: Scott – 3; Malm – 2; McElroy, Hazelwood, Peters – 1.

Assist: Hazelwood – 4; Blanchat, Malm, McElroy – 2; Scott, Peters – 1.

Rebounds: Blanchat – 17; Hazelwood – 7; McElroy – 6; Peters, Sophia Fruits – 2; Scott, Malm – 1.

Steals: Hazelwood – 3; Peters – 2; Blanchat, Scott, Malm, McElroy – 1.

Blocked Shots: Hazelwood – 4; Blanchat – 2.

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