Vikes get Senior Night win

Todd Lancaster, Washington Times-Herald, Ind.
·2 min read

Jan. 19—MONTGOMERY — The Barr-Reeve Lady Vikings made a pre-sectional statement with a BCC and Senior Night win over Shoals (5-12) on Tuesday in New Viking Arena.

The 50-34 win moved B-R to 8-13 for the season and moved to 3-2 against potential Sectional 63 opponents.

B-R got a strong night from Hannah Bledsoe with 14, 12 from Jennica Helms and 11 from Willow Thompson, along with going 10-13 from the stripe and posting six treys.

"I want to start by saying how much I appreciate our six seniors. They mean a lot to us. When we hit shots, good things happen. Beth Graber really got us going and Jennica really helped. We feel like we are gaining confidence right now," said B-R coach Lacey Higgins.

The Lady Vikes got a chance to start five of its six seniors to open the game, with Cierra Redmond getting the first Viking bucket. However, Shoals picked up the next six points. Thompson added a trey to cut it back to 5-6. A Graber trey tied the game at 8-8 and Bledsoe gave B-R a 10-8 lead which is how the quarter ended.

Shoals and Elle Knepp traded baskets to open the second, the game remained close, tied at 14-all. Bledsoe added buckets and Graber posted two free throws to make it an 18-14 margin, B-R's biggest lead of the game to that point. Graber connected from downtown to make it 21-16, which is how the half ended.

Bledsoe opened the third with a basket for her eight point, but Shoals' Ava Perry answered with a triple to make it 23-19. Ava Carter and Beth Graber then combined for the next five Viking points and a 28-22 margin. Carter picked off a pass and turned it into a point, while Mariah Brunson had a rebound that shut down a Rox scoring chance. She added a bucket to make it 33-24, followed by Elle Knepp's second basket and a 35-24 lead after three quarters.

Senior Jennica Helms and freshman Bledsoe combined for four more B-R points and a 15-point lead.

Helms then added two treys to make it 45-24 and basically put the game out of reach. Helms would end the quarter with 12 points, as a pair of her free throws made it 49-29. Kylee Gladish also got on the board with a free throw, while finishing the game at 50-34.

Also scoring for the Vikes was Natalie Wagler with four, three from Carter, two from Brunson and one from Gladish.

Shoals was led by Perry and Olivia Jordan. There was no JV game played. B-R takes on South Knox on Thursday.