After dropping five of its last six games, the Lady Viking varsity basketball team closed out its non-conference schedule in style by winning the consolation championship at the Lexington Invitational Tournament Dec. 10-12, improving its non-conference record to 4-8.
The Lady Vikes opened the tournament with a 43-34 loss to the Giddings Buffaloes Dec. 10 before closing out the weekend in style by defeating the Caldwell Hornets, 36-30, to reach the finals, following with a 33-22 win over the Taylor Ducks to claim the championship bracket.
After starting strong against the undefeated Giddings team, the Lady Vikings saw their lead slowly getting chipped away as the stronger and faster Buffalo squad took control of the game in the second half and put down any Lago comeback.
“We lost to a talented and undefeated Giddings team by only nine points,” said head coach Jason Stoner. “Our defense was really consistent throughout the whole game. We played them a lot closer than the score indicated.”
Offensively, the team received strong performances from Alex Wolf and Erin Seely with nine points apiece. On the defensive side, Wolf, Kacie Feebo and Kym Edward grabbed six boards to pace the Lady Vikings. Marisa Whitehead led the team with four steals while contributing six points in the losing effort.
Relegated to the loser’s bracket after the first round, the Lady Vikings aimed their sights on 3A powerhouse Caldwell on Friday. As it struggled for points early in the contest and found themselves down late in the game, Lago rallied in the final minutes to upend the Hornets.
“Our team showed a lot of guts and determination to come back and beat Caldwell. We could have easily given up in the final minutes, but we regained our composure and took a win away,” Stoner said.
Once again, Wolf proved to be the difference in the game as she put the majority of her team leading 14 points late in the fourth quarter. Edwards and Whitehead set the tone and matched one another all evening with six rebounds and six points each.
In the championship game, the Lady Vikes came out determined not to let another game get away from them as some have in the past. A swarming defense forced numerous turnovers and limited the Ducks to a mere six points at the half. With the game in control going into the third quarter, the Vikings used an aggressive ball control game plan that never saw their lead fall below 10 points.
“I was happy the girls got to look and feel what it is like to win again,” Stoner said. “We have been getting better at controlling our mistakes and capitalizing on those of our opponents.”
Going into the tournament, the Lady Vikings were coming off their second straight defeat, 43-37, to a Vandegrift team on Dec. 8 that came into the meeting with an 11-2 record with only two losses against 5A schools. After falling to them the previous week by 22 points, the Vikes nearly overcame a fourth-quarter, 12-point lead to claim victory.
The loss gave the team and Stoner some prospective and a sense of accomplishment that served the team well as they headed into the Lexington Tournament.
“I was as pleased as you can be with a loss to a tough Vandegrift team. Our team showed a lot of heart to fight through adversity and I was impressed with how well our defense was starting to gel together,” Stoner said. “I continue to preach to the girls that we are close to getting where we need to be and I truly believe that.”