John Michaels
IVN Contributing Writer
The Lorna Byrne Middle School girls basketball team remained undefeated this season with a hard-fought 35-30 win over New Hope Christian last Monday At New Hope. The Lady Vikings have a 2-0 record heading into the third week of the season this week. A game scheduled Wednesday against Prospect was played as a “B” game at Prospect’s request.
Lorna Byrne was off to a slow start against the Warriors, trailing 8-5 at the end of the first quarter. Vivienne Klein and Asriel Miller got the Lady Vikings on track offensively in the second period, scoring all nine of Lorna Byrne’s points in the quarter as the two teams went into the intermission tied at 14-14.
The teams traded baskets in the third quarter, but the Green and Gold made a couple of extra free throws, grabbing a slim 23-20 lead going into the final stanza. With Klein and Miller again leading the way, the Lady Vikings outscored New Hope 12-10 in the final frame and chalked up the 35-30 win.
Klein and Miller each poured in 12 points to lead Lorna Byrne. Natalie Praytor and Jocelyn Sanchez each chipped in four points, while Saray Mendoza added two and Dakota Kohler had one for the Lady Vikings.
The Lorna Byrne “B” squad won a close 16-15 contest over New Hope on Monday and obliterated Prospect 27-15 on Wednesday. The Lady Viking B’s sport a 2-1 record on the year.
Against New Hope, for the Viking B squad grabbed a 4-3 lead after the first quarter and built it up to 8-5 at the half. However, the Warrior “B” squad rallied to cut the lead to 10-9 going into the final quarter.
Lorna Byrne got key baskets from Georgia Taylor, Nya Barton and Mackenzie Latimer and held on for the 16-15 win. Balanced scoring was key for the Lady Vikings as six different players scored, with no one getting more than four points. Barton and Latimer each tallied four, while Taylor, Mia Olsen, Opal Norris and Bailee Reed got one bucket each.
Against Prospect, Reed got the Green and Gold off to a fast start, scoring all eight of her points in the first period as Lorna Byrne jumped out to a 9-0 lead after one. The onslaught continued in the second with the Lady Vikings outscoring the Junior Cougars 14-4 to grab a 23-4 halftime lead.
With Lorna Byrne giving a lot of playing time to its reserve players, Prospect outscored the Lady Vikings 7-4 in the third quarter. But Lorna Byrne dominated the final quarter 10-4 to grab an easy win.
Jocelyn Southammavong led the Lady Vikings with nine points. Though rebounding statistics weren’t kept for the game, Southammavong may have grabbed 20 or more rebounds as it seemed like every time Prospect missed a shot, Southammavong came away with a rebound.
Reed was second in scoring for Lorna Byrne with the eight points she scored in the first. Barton and Maysie Engberg-Stone each had six points. Taylor, Olsen, Latimer and Jenevieve Turley each chipped in two points.
The Lady Vikings are scheduled to travelling to play Rogue River and then Rogue Valley Adventist/Ruch at home this week. The Rogue Valley Adventist/Ruch games will be played Wednesday at Jamie Scott Memorial Gym. The opening game is scheduled to start at 4:30 p.m.