Vikings season ended by Eagles on road

The AHSTW Vikings girls basketball season has come to an end after a tough defeat in the Class 2A – Region 8 Second Round Tournament game by the Underwood Eagles on the road, 51-36.

“The end of the season is always hard, and no matter what is said it still hurts to have the season stop,” said Vikings Head Coach Jill Vanderhoof. “I told them that they grew tremendously individually, as well as a team this year, and they have to continue to want to get better in the offseason to have an even better season next year.”

Despite a quick exit, Vanderhoof highlighted some positives about the season.

“The leadership that shined through was pretty fun to watch this year,” she said. “We had girls step up in ways they weren't used to, and that helped to create a culture that continued to help them all thrive.”

According to Vanderhoof, physicality was an area where they made massive improvements in their style of play.

“One of the biggest areas of improvement was our physicality as well as defensive rebounding,” Vanderhoof added. “They really worked on being stronger with the ball, really allowing them to take care of the ball more. The physicality also really helped with rebounding and keeping some tough opponents off the offensive glass.”

The Vikings finished their season with a 9-15 record led by Junior Delaney Goshorn with 324 points and 52 assists. Goshorn was second in rebounds with 141 behind teammate Senior Ellie Peterson with 177.

Peterson will not be returning due to graduation, but left a positive impact on this program for four seasons. She finished the season with 201 points.

“Ellie is one of those players that leads in multiple ways,” Vanderhoof said. “She uses her experience on the court to help the team function well. She steps up defensively and really crashed the boards hard this year, as well as getting plenty of blocks. She continued to gain strength offensively, stepping up when we needed a basket. It's hard to fill her shoes when she's such an all-around great player and teammate.”

Most underclassmen are expected to return, along with some new faces joining the program. Vanderhoof is looking forward to the future of Vikings basketball and working with everyone.

“They are a tremendous group of kids to work with,” she said. “They work hard and they continue to challenge each other in practice and have so much potential. The returners are big leaders and they will help the new faces fit into the program well.”

 
 

 

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