Vikings secure gritty road win

Vikings secure gritty road win

Timely baskets, and key stops defensively helped the 23rd ranked Grayson Vikings secure a gritty road win against Cisco on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
It was a defensive battle to start, as neither team could gain much of an advantage. Tay Biglow was a big spark off the bench, coming in and hitting three big three pointers to help Grayson to a 17-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter remained close, Cisco cut it to three points; but Fia Filoialii cut back door for an easy layup, and it was back to a five point advantage. Madison Carter extended the lead to double digits with a three pointer, to cap a 7-0 run and put the Vikings up 24-14. Diana Letaru and Madison Martin hit some big baskets down the stretch, and the Vikings held a 30-22 advantage at the half.
Martin and Gracie Burckhartzmeyer were big contributors in the third quarter, combining for 10 of the Viking 15 points. Martin used her speed to get some high percentage shots, and Burckhartzmeyer hit a key three pointer, as the Vikings opened up a 45-28 lead at the end of the third quarter. Martin had a blocked shot as the buzzer sounded, so Cisco couldn't get up a shot to potentially cut into the lead.
A 6-1 run from Cisco cut the Viking lead to 46-34, but a three from Burckhartzmeyer put the Vikings back up by 15. As Cisco would continue to cut into the lead, pulling within 11 on a few different occasions, bit the Vikings kept scoring. Biglow drove and hit the layup to push the lead back to 14, and a layup from Kayla Jones extended the lead to 13 to help the Vikings secure the victory.
Biglow led the team in scoring with 16 points off the bench. Martin added 13, and Burckhartzmeyer had 10. Grayson outrebounded Cisco 33-25, led by Diana Letaru with 10, and Jones with eight. Susan Fahnbulleh dished out five assists, and Jones had four.
The win sets the stage for a huge showdown this weekend at Bill Brock Court against No. 9 McLennan. Both teams are ranked in the top 25 in the country, and are both 10-1 in conference play, meaning the winner takes over sole possession of first place with only four games left in the regular season after Saturday.
Tip-off from Grayson College will be at 2pm.