Vikings girls basketball lose road conference game

PALOUSE - The Garfield-Palouse Vikings earned their first win of the 2023-24 basketball season with a home rout of the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves.

Before the win, the girls played an away game in Oakesdale against the Nighthawks.

The game against the Nighthawks took place in Oakesdale on Friday, Dec. 8.

The game seemed to be a blow out from the beginning for the Nighthawks, but the Vikings fought back until ultimately losing 38-36.

The Vikings were out scored 10-3 in the first quarter, then saw a 12-6 second quarter deficit. The Vikings would head into the half time locker room trailing 22-9.

The third quarter was where the Vikings started their comeback. The Vikings would out score Oakesdale 14-4 in the quarter, cutting the lead to just three heading into the fourth quarter.

The final quarter was a back-and-forth game, with both teams scoring on crucial possessions, however, it was the Nighthawks who came away with the two-point victory.

In this game, Taia Gehring led all Viking scorers with 13 points. She shot 4/10 from the field including two three-point shots. Gehring also had two assists, one block and eight total rebounds.

Elena Flansburg was the other Viking double-digit scorer on the day. She finished with 10 points on 2/13 shooting. Both of her made baskets were three-point shots.

Both Gehring and Flansburg had four fouls in the game as the Vikings had 22 total as a team, this led to many free-throw attempts from Oakesdale.

"We started slow but was really happy with how we battled back in the second half. We overcame a tough shooting night and stayed with a really good team," Vikings head coach Garrett Parrish said.

The last game of week two for the Viking girls was Saturday, Dec. 9, when the Vikings played the Timberwolves at home.

The game was settled after halftime as the Vikings would dominate, winning the game 72-28.

The first quarter saw the Vikings lead 15-8 before exploding for a 29-5 advantage in the second quarter.

Garfield-Palouse took a 44-13 lead into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Vikings would score 17 points and allow 10 before putting the game to rest in the fourth quarter, scoring 11 points to secure the 44-point victory.

In this game, Flansburg would score a game-high 24 points. She went 10/22 shooting and made four free throws. She also had five assists and five rebounds.

Freshman Kyra Brantner would score 22 points in the game for the Vikings. She also made 10 shots in the game and had five rebounds. Brantner also had five steals.

"Our pressure worked really well in the second quarter and we were able to pull away from them," Parrish said.

The next game for the Vikings will be played on Saturday, Dec. 16. The game will be home for the Vikings as they take on Pomeroy. The girls game is set to start at 3:30 p.m.

Following the girls game will be the Vikings boys, set to tip-off at 5 p.m.