[score id=”48697″ align=”right”]
The girls basketball team crushed the Blair Blazers 71–27 Tuesday night in the sectional semifinals, starting off their journey through the playoffs on a high note.

The Vikes, who went 19–3 in the regular season, met the Blazers earlier in the season and beat them 79–27 in a similar game. Despite the previous score, the team didn’t want to go in overconfident, according to guard Isabel Manzano.

Although the Vikes were missing key guards Hannah Niles and Marie Hatch, who were recovering from illness and injury, respectively, the team was able to continue its usual success. Guard Abby Meyers led the team with 23 points, followed by forwards Betsy Knox and Emily Meyers with nine each.

The Vikings grabbed their lead early in the game, finishing the first quarter 29–5 with contributions from guard Jenna Hosker, who scored two three-pointers, and Meyers, who added 11 points.

“Our defense was really strong,” Hosker said. “We held them to zero points for a while in the first half, which definitely fueled our offense. We came out with a lot of energy in the first quarter, which definitely helped us get a good lead.”

The score advanced to 41–11 at the end of the half, thanks to good communication and passing, guard Elizabeth Holden said.

“It wasn’t just one person scoring—everyone had a hand in this win,” she said.

Notably, JV players Carter Witt and Julia Shaver were given the opportunity to play in the second half because of the Vikes’ strong lead.
“I think it gave us some more energy having them in because we all got super excited that they got to play in their first game and wanted the best for them,” Hosker said.

The Vikes continued their pressure on offense and defense into the third and fourth quarters, adding 30 more points from powerful layups, five successful foul shots, and three three-pointers.

Although the team said their lead decreased the pressure later on in the game, they recognize that they won’t always have such an advantage in future playoff games, including in their next game against B-CC.

“It’s definitely not an easy game for us,” Hosker said. “They have a few really quick guards that we will need to shut down. We think that B-CC will come out really strong, as they always do in playoffs, and hopefully we can beat them again.”

The Vikes now advance to the sectional finals against rival B-CC Thursday at 6:15 at home.