Viking girls basketball sail onwards with victories

PALOUSE — The Garfield-Palouse Vikings girls basketball team are a bright, youthful team, who get better with each passing game.

This week was no different, as the girls took down two 1B district opponents in dominating fashion.

The Vikings defeated the Asotin Panthers by 18, then took down Whitman County opponent, the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves, by 35.

The girls team has just five games left to be played in the regular season, and are making a late push for a hope in the state championship tournament.

The game against Asotin was played on Tuesday, Jan. 9, with the game taking place in Asotin.

The Vikings won all four quarters, scoring 16 points in both the first and fourth quarters to secure the 50-32 victory.

Morgan Lentz led the way offensively for the Vikings. She had 14 points on 5/12 shooting, including three made three-point baskets.

Two other Viking players reached double-digit scoring. Kyra Brantner finished with 11 points on five made field-goals, and Elena Flansburg had 10 points. Brantner would also have 10 rebounds in the match, giving her a double-double, she also had five steals.

The Vikings turned the ball over 20 times in the match, but forced the Panthers into 30, giving the edge to the Vikings, which helped secure the victory.

“I feel our defense has been getting better lately. When we put our energy and focus into defense our offense tends to follow. We have a lot of tough league games coming up, how well we do defensively will go a long way in determining how well we do in those games,” said Vikings head coach Garrett Parrish.

The next game for the Vikings was played on Saturday, Jan. 13, against the Timberwolves.

Garfield-Palouse controlled the tempo, forcing turnovers from Tekoa-Rosalia while holding the Timberwolves to just 18 points to secure the 53-18 victory.

Tekoa-Rosalia did not score more than six points in any quarter, they had nine total points in the first half, and another nine total in the second.

The Vikings scored 21 points in the first quarter, more than the Timberwolves scored in the game.

Flansburg had 19 points and 10 rebounds in the game for the Vikings. She went 8/16 from the field with three made three-point baskets.

Brantner finished with 14 points, and Zoe Laughary had 10 points on four made baskets.

Alyssa Babb and Clare Wilkins each had four points for the Timberwolves in the game. Briley Smith had three points, as well as Megan Maley.

As a team, the Vikings turned the ball over 12 total times, while Tekoa-Roslaia had 32.

The next game for the Timberwolves will be Friday, Jan. 19, when they travel to take on the Pomeroy Pirates. The game will be played in Pomeroy, with tip-off set for 6 p.m.

For the Vikings, their next game will be played on Friday, Jan. 19, against the Dayton Bulldogs. The game will be played in Dayton, and will tip-off at 6 p.m.