Coming off of two huge season-shifting wins, the Vikings looked to make it three in a row when facing Licking Valley on Monday January 13. The Panthers controlled the play at the start, quickly gaining a two- point lead. Kendall O. hit a deep three to claim the lead by one, but the Panthers went on a seven point scoring rampage, along with limiting the Vikings to just two points off of a layup by Kyndal S. The Panthers led 13-5 at the end of the first. Kyndal S. came out of the break on fire, getting a key block and finishing it with a fast break layup. Key scores by Kendall O. And Abby S. put the Vikings back into the game, down one point. With 3 seconds, left Abby S. hurled the ball to Kendall O. who sent the ball up in the air as the clock struck zero, nailing the shot and giving the Vikes the lead going into half, 18-17. After the halftime, the Vikings hit two key shots, extending their lead to 24-17. But just as it looked like the game was slipping away from the Panthers, they came marching back with three key layups and a free throw to remain in the game, ending the third quarter in a 25-25 tie. Freshman Liana L. took over at the start of the fourth, piling up seven points and two blocks to give the Vikes a 32-25 lead. But once again, the Panthers cut the Vikes lead down to three with just 2 minutes left. Coming out of the timeout, the Panthers claimed the lead by one shot with 15 seconds remaining, winning 33-32.
Coming off of the heartbreaker, the Vikes looked to redeem themselves against Franklin Heights on January 14 in the Mack and looked unstoppable coming out of the gate, hitting every shot they put and taking a 21-9 lead after the first half. The second half was no different as the Vikings dominated all eight minutes with a score of 33-17 at half and won the game in dominating fashion, 60-27, with leading scorers Kyndal S. with 18, Kendall O. with 14, and Morgan S. with 10.
On January 16, the team traveled to Whitehall, who had previously beaten them by 58-44. Following last week’s blowout upset, this seemed like an achievable win. Coming out of the gate this did not seem like the team who had played last week, shots were not falling, and defense looked sloppy. Whitehall dominated in all quarters and won 62-33.
