The girls basketball team has made it to the state semifinals at UMBC with a record of 21-4, after avenging its previous two-point loss against the 18-5 Gaithersburg Trojans at the Montgomery 4A West regional finals March 1, with a score of 46-31.

After their 49-42 defeat of WJ in the semifinals, the Vikes came into this game elated and eager to take on the Trojans once again. Though the game was out at Paint Branch, the Vikes had strong support from their peers who took a fan bus from Whitman to the game.

“I think our fans really made the game exciting and I think they also made Gaithersburg nervous,” guard Justine Wood said.

The first half started out well for the Vikes, as they scored 22 while the Torjans only came up with seven. Though the Trojans had size to their advantage, the Vikes did well getting shots inside the paint.

High scorers for the Vikes include guard Maddie Cannon with 11 points, forward Dani Okon with 9, and center Rebecca Ford with 8.

The second half was closer; the Vikes were ahead by only one point in a 24-23 lead, as the Trojans began to catch up. However, they could not push ahead of the Vikes.

What really helped the Vikes was their success on the foul line. Their free throw percentage was 68 percent, outdoing the Trojans’ 50. Cannon and Okon consistently shot well when they were put on the line, shooting 4-6 and 5-6 respectively.

“We prepared a lot for it and were excited to have our chance to beat them, because they’ve kicked Whitman out of the playoffs the last three years,” Wood said.

The Vikes will take on the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute in their state semifinal game March 7 at UMBC at 3 pm. A number of fan buses will be departing from Whitman so come out wearing white and support the Vikes.