On Tuesday night, the Lady Vikings played for the Christmas Holiday Invitational Tournament title against the tourney host Draughn Lady Wildcats. Despite an ebb and flow of scoring and momentum shifts, the Lady Vikings stood tall in the end, earning the road victory by the final score of 62-55.Avery raced out to an early lead, but Draughn battled back to draw within a pair of points at 15-13. In the second stanza, the teams played tough defense as Avery again extended a lead only to see Draughn anewer with a scoring run of its own. Avery held the lead at intermission, but only by one point at 27-26.
Following the halftime break, the Lady Vikings played with purpose and passion, quickly extending its thin margin to double-figures and carrying a 47-37 advantage into the final eight minutes of play.
Avery led by as many as 14 points in the fourth quarter, but the home team Lady Wildcats would not quit, scoring ten straight points in a stretch of slightly over two minutes to draw to within four points at 57-53. The Lady Vikings tightened their defense to counteract the Wildcats, however, blocking multiple shots and effectively rebounding the basketball.The Lady Vikings controlled the game from the charity stripe as they drew a number of fouls in the closing two minutes and hit their free throws down the stretch to take the seven-point decision.
Viking senior Lauren Avery garnered All-Tournament honors as she registered a double-double in the win with 12 points and ten rebounds in addition to four steals and three assists. Teammate Sara Wiseman scored a team-high 15 points, along with nine rebounds and five blocks.
Katelynn Eudy, Tournament Most Valuable Player, scored ten points with nine rebounds. Avery's other All-Tournament selection Hayley Pyatte reached double-figures on the night with 13 points, five assists, and three steals. Elyse Perry chipped in with eight points, eight assists, five rebounds, and three steals.
Both Avery's ladies and men's teams return to action next week with three contests. Avery travels to Polk County on Tuesday, hit the road to Owen on Wednesday, and return home to host Madison on Friday, January 8th.
