THE VIKINGS STRIKE BACK
By Matt Maher
LEAVITTSBURG, OH – The Vikings are on a mission to prove they are among the best teams in the Mahoning Valley and Saturday’s 65-32 victory over Bristol certainly helped them in their mission. With 4 players scoring 10 or more points over their non-conference foes LaBrae showed off their skill on the ball as well as away from it with turnover after turnover forced against the Panthers.
LaBrae came out of the pregame huddle with their highest scoring quarter of the day, a 20-4 difference set the tone for how the game was going to be played. Majority of LaBraes opportunities in this quarter (and game for that matter) came off of turnovers whether it be because they were able to force them or because of small mistakes that Bristol made the Vikings took advantage. Riley Rowe and Mariah Jones were a couple of studs in the first quarter with Rowe scoring 8 points and Jones with 6.
Bristol found their energy in the second quarter but would still be outscored but just 17-13. Marissa Levensky found her first 6 points in the quarter including a 3 made from distance. Ella Kuszmaul would add 6 more points to her total including a buzzer beating 3 that took some conversing after the fact to get added to to score. Bristol would see Lauren Church score 5 points in the frame which was a nice compliment to her playmaking throughout the entire half.
The scoring dialed down out of the break with LaBrae only putting up 11 to Bristol’s 8. Jones would lead her team this quarter with 4 points including 2 of 3 made free throws. Rowe added another 3 to her total as well which would also be her last points of the game leaving her with 14 points against the Panthers. Church continued to lead her team by putting up 6 points out of the 8 her team found.
LaBrae capped off their performance with 17 more points in the 4th and only allowing Bristol 7. Kuszmaul added 6 more points to her total and she finished with 18 points. Levensky found 4 more points and finished with 10 points and Jones put in another bucket allowing her to finish with 12.
Both teams showed some struggle during this game with both teams having trouble from the free throw line which was very worn out after the second quarter where both teams exceeded their 5 foul limit early on. While free throws were an issue, LaBrae took advantage of a bevy of turnovers from Bristol and over thrown shots which allowed them to score with ease and coast into their 11th win of the season. Bristol (6-7) are back in action when they host Chalker on January 15th at 7:00PM and LaBrae (11-2) hits the road when they face Newton Falls on January 18th at 7:00PM.
