Langer scores 13 points en route to Vikings win

Junior Ella Langer led the way for the Vikings with 13 points Tuesday night at home against the Riverside Bulldogs, helping the Vikings to its fifth win on the season and second consecutive victory.

“She has really looked to continue to improve her game by driving to the hoop more, creating opportunities for her to score, but also opening up outside shots for us as well,” said Vikings Head Coach Jill Vanderhoof. “Ella has continued to get stronger, and the shots were falling for her last night, which was great to see.”

The game got off to a slow start for both teams, with neither team able to score until Riverside Junior Elyssa Amdor made the first bucket with just under four minutes remaining in the first quarter.

Langer was fouled about a minute later, making one of two free-throw attempts to get the Vikings on the board. Teammate Junior Rylie Knop was fouled not long after, and made both free throw attempts to put the Vikings up 3-2.

Junior Viking Saydi Paulsen hit a 3-point shot to open the second quarter scoring, but on the next possession, Riverside Sophomore Ayla Richardson matched her by dropping one from 3-point territory as well.

With just over two and a half minutes remaining, Riverside head coach Mitch Rice called a timeout with his team down by two. The timeout didn’t affect AHSTW as they cruised to halftime on a 6-1 run, taking a 16-9 lead into the locker room.

“We had to keep our energy up and continue to move the ball,” Vanderhoof said. “During the first half, the ball was getting stuck and we weren't cutting quick enough. They really picked up that end of the game during the second half. Defensively, we wanted to keep pressure on their shooters, but most importantly, rebound the ball strong. We had to stop giving up offensive rebounds in order to limit Riverside's chances to score.”

The third quarter began with Riverside dropping the first bucket. With just over three minutes remaining in the quarter, Vanderhoof called a timeout with the Vikings hanging on to a 6-point lead.

Langer once again took control dropping two more buckets, having 11 points heading into the final quarter with the Vikings up by 10.

The Bulldogs turned the tables in the fourth quarter, dropping three consecutive 3-pointers to cut the Vikings lead from 10 points to one. Vanderhoof immediately called a timeout.

“Ultimately we just needed to gather ourselves and get our composure back together,” she said. “We changed defenses for the next possession to get them off balance, and we adjusted our offensive sets slightly to get better shot selections. They had been working together so well as a team all night and they needed to realize that continuing to work together is what would pull them through in this game, and it did just that.”

After the timeout, the Vikings got back to work going on a 6-0 run, forcing another timeout from Rice with just over a minute remaining. The Vikings dropped one more shot and soon celebrated a 34-26 victory over the Bulldogs.

“We've been working on a lot of little things that have contributed to us playing a little better and stronger,” Vanderhoof said. “They have started to play with a little more grit and energy which has really helped with our aggressiveness.”

The Vikings next opponent will be the Underwood Eagles on the road Friday night at 6 p.m. The Eagles have won six in a row, with its most recent win coming against the IKM-Manning Wolves Tuesday night. The Eagles are led by Alizabeth Jacobsen with 131 points and 111 rebounds.

“They are a really well-rounded team,” Vanderhoof added. “They have a lot of veteran ball players that play hard. We've got to make sure our communication on defense is really strong to be able to locate shooters, but also limit the touches for the posts inside. Taking care of the ball has been a focus for us all year, so limiting turnovers will be crucial. We also need to make sure we take charge on the defensive boards to cut down their opportunities to set up and run their offense."

 
 

 

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