Feb. 17 Sports Recap
Hockey crushes Northern in preliminary round of playoffs; boys and girls basketball finish off their seasons with wins against Paint Branch on senior night
Guard Alex Sanson holds the ball right outside the three-point line in the team’s game against Paint Branch. Sanson scored 21 points in the victory. Photo by Tomas Castro.
February 20, 2017
Hockey
The Vikings hockey team overtook the Northern Patriots in a 10–1 blowout Friday in the first round of state playoffs.
Junior captain Tiger Bjӧrnlund kicked off the game with a sharp shot eight minutes into the first period after a long stalemate against the Northern goalie. From there, the Vikings had an explosive second period, scoring six goals and completely overpowering the Patriots. The Vikings closed out the game with three final goals in the third period ending with a 10–1 victory.
Next the Vikings take on the South River Seahawks Tuesday at 6:40 in the second round of playoffs.
Girls basketball
The girls basketball team (18–2) dominated the Paint Branch Panthers 56–36 Friday behind a dominant performance by guard Abby Meyers.
The Vikes got off to a slow start offensively, missing a lot of shots and struggling to break the Panthers’ defense. The first half went back-and-forth, with both teams taking early leads.
However, the Vikes dominated the game after halftime behind a third-quarter offensive explosion by Abby Meyers, highlighted by an ankle-breaking crossover into an and-one that left a Panther injured and caused a five minute stoppage in play. Shortly after play resumed and she converted the and-one, Abby hit multiple fadeaway threes despite being double-covered. Abby finished the game with 32 points including five three-pointers.
Forwards Livy Meyers and Leia Till also contributed with eight and seven points respectively.
The Vikes finish the regular season at an impressive 19–3 and undefeated against public schools. The team will be the number one seed their region and are looking to defend their state title. The date and time of their first playoff game is to be determined.
Boys basketball
The boys basketball team (15–5) outlasted the Paint Branch Panthers 59–52 on Friday night.
The Vikes were ultimately fueled by their first half defense. In the second quarter, they gave up only six points.
Guard Alex Sanson led the team with 21 points and guard Hannes Kogelnik exploded for 17 points with five threes.
The Vikes will be the number two seed in their region. The date and time of their first playoff game is to be determined.
