The Grayson Vikings continued their best start in recent memory with two victories to close out non conference play at the Collin Classic. With the victories, their record goes to 12-2 on the season.
Frank Phillips
It was a little bit of a slow start for the Vikings, as they got the feeling back after being off from game action from the last month.
Susan Fahnbulleh, Kayla Jones, and Fia Fiolialli got the Vikings offense going early on in this one. Fahnbulleh hit a couple from long range, and Grayson held a 15-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Jones scored the first points of the second quarter for a seven point lead. Frank Phillips cut it to two points at one point early on, but a three from Fiolialli extended the lead back out to five points. The defense forced a turnover, and Madison Martin found Tay Biglow for a layup, and later Gracie Burckhartzmeyer connected on a corner three for a double digit lead. On the ensuing possession, she connected on another three to help give Grayson a 34-20 lead heading into halftime.
The Vikings maintained their large lead in the second half. A jumper from Fiolialli gave the Vikings their largest lead at 17 points early in the fourth quarter, and the Vikings won 60-40.
Offensively, Grayson was led by Jones with 13 points, Fahnbulleh added 12 and Fiolialli had 11 off the bench. Defensively, the Vikings forced 28 turnovers, and had 19 steals as a team.
Connors State
A strong second half from the Grayson Vikings helped lift them to a 95-58 victory over Connors State on Friday, Jan. 3.
The Vikings held a slim four point lead at the end of the first quarter, but got off to a hot start in the second quarter with a three from Gracie Burckhartzmeyer giving them a double digit lead at 28-15. Connors State went on a 7-0 run to cut it to six, until Madison Martin faked the defense, and drove in for the layup to push the lead back out to eight. Valajah Jackson, Shaki Abdulazeez and Burckhartzmeyer each scored a basket down the stretch, but Connors State scored the final four points, as Grayson held a four point lead heading into the half.
"I told the team at halftime we needed to play better, plain and simple," Head Coach Steve Lowe said. "We needed to own who we're guarding, and guard better. We missed some easy shots early on, and that hurt."
The defense took center stage in the third quarter, limiting Connors State to just 10 points, while the Viking offense exploded for 31 points, their second highest point total in a quarter in a game this season. That rhythm continued into their fourth quarter as Jones hit a jumper in the post for a 33 point lead, and Diana Letaru later gave the Vikings a 35 point lead with a jumper of her own, allowing the Vikings to close non-conference play with a victory.
Burckhartzmeyer finished with 19 points to lead the Vikings offensively, while Martin added a season high 18 points and nine rebounds. Tay Biglow and Jones finished with 14 and 12 points respectively.
"We played much better in the second half of this game," he said. "We're getting back into our rhythm, and we'll be back to playing Wednesday's and Saturday's, and we'll be ok. We'll be in good shape moving forward."
The Vikings will open up conference play at home against Southwest Christian on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Tip-off is set for 5pm.
