The Lady Vikings of East Carbon High marched into action on the hardwood floor against the Meridian Mongooses in Provo Dec. 20.
The Mongooses have not been a highly ranked basketball team in the past several years. In fact, the team has not scored many victories in recent memory. The Vikings were aware of this fact and according to assistant coach Alan Peacock, East Carbon came out somewhat “over confident.”
Although the Vikings took the game lightly, the ladies stepped up their play in the second half to walk away victorious.
The first half saw the Vikings play flatly. The score by the half was 24-14 with the Vikings ahead of the Mongooses.
“The lady Vikings did not execute as well as usual in the first half,” explained Peacock. “The team overall played flat.”
Alaena Preston fueled the fire for the Vikings during the first half. Preston lead the team in points for the half with 12 points. Although she did not score during the second half, Preston sparked the teams desire to step up play for the remainder of the game.
The third quarter allowed the Vikings to take charge of the game. The Mongooses failed to score a basket throughout the third quarter, while the Vikings displayed a tremendous defense.
The Vikings defense posted several steals which lead to break-away layups. Nicole Johnson lead the defensive onslaught for the Vikings.
Peacock is quick to point out that Johnson leads the team in defensive play.
“She is the best defensive player on the team,” he says. “Nicole does not care if she scores any points; she is so focused on her defensive game.”
Although scoring is not a priority to Johnson, she finished the game with 13 points. Most of these points came off of break-away layups and free throw shots.
Although short lived, the fourth quarter found the Mongooses rally a comeback. The Provo team scored only eight points in the fourth and finished on the losing end of the score board with a final score of 48-22.
The Lady Vikings may have started the game weak, but the outcome found East Carbon finishing strong.
The Vikings plan to carry over the win and continue playing solid defense in the teams next game against the Green River Pirates Jan. 8 on the road.
Lady Vikings finish strong
