As the girls’ basketball team would say, their season has been the definition of BEASTMODE so far! At the start of their season, they had a six-game winning streak where they blew their competition out of the water. They won many games by 30+ points. So far, they have faced tough competition with a few of their games.

The Lady Vikes faced strong competition in their 7th game of the year against Basehor-Linwood on January 10th, 2023. At half time, the score was 35-32, Seaman, and at the end of regulation, the score was tied, 60-60

Battling through the game, the Lady Vikes had gained their first loss after a game with double overtime. In the end, the score was 74-71, Basehor-Linwood. The Lady Vikes will face them again on February 17th, 2023, for a rematch.

There is no doubt that this is a tough team to beat, and Anna Becker, a sophomore, stated, “I’d say the best thing about our team is our chemistry and how we like to run the floor. We also have an intense defense that leads to offense!”

Following up on team chemistry, Jaycee Schumann, senior, stated, “Our team chemistry has always been really good the past years, I thought we really just bonded. And because of how close we are, I feel it really helps us come together and win games.”

About halfway through their season, the girls competed at the Glacier Edge Tournament at Emporia High School from January 26th through the 28th. There they faced some challenging opponents.

Their first game was against Shawnee Mission West (SMW), who had some talented players on their side. At halftime, the score was 28-26, SMW. After halftime, the Lady Vikes came out with a goal in mind and won the game 60-52. 

Throughout the season, underclassmen have stepped up, including freshman Maddie Gragg who scored 18 points against SMW.

“My highlight of my freshman year on the basketball team has been the games because of the thrill and energy during them.”

Continuing through the tournament, their next opponent was Derby High School who had some talent up their sleeves. Battling through the first half, they finished the first half winning by 6, 25-19. The Lady Vikes continued their same pace and finished strong with a score of 45-39.

Leading up to this tournament, the Lady Vikes knew their competition would be fierce. But when they faced Emporia in the championship, they didn’t back down. Halfway through they were only down by 2, 20-18.

Coming out of the locker room, Lady Vikes did not shy away and came out even stronger. Little did they know that this game would come down to the very last second. With 10 seconds to go and tied 43-43, the ball was in the hands of Anna Becker.

As she was unable to find an open gap, Anna passed the ball to junior, Taylin Stallbaumer, who shot a buzzer-beater 3-pointer to win the game, 46-43, and overall tournament! 

When asked how she felt after hitting the winning shot, Taylin stated, “It was a good feeling to have my team huddled around me after the shot, especially Anna’s celebration. It’s a feeling I will not forget.”

​​When asked to compare this team to past teams, head coach Matt Tinsley stated, “We started this season with a quote, ‘To begin with the end in mind,’ and we’re still climbing that mountain, and we still want to continue to get better. We’re not where we want to be yet. We’re hungry, and this is a group that got beat in the Sub-State championship last year, and I feel like since day one, we came in with the goal in mind to get back to the State tournament. We’re putting ourselves in a position to do that, and we realize we got to bring it every day.”

This year the Lady Vikes have two seniors who have been great leaders for the season. Reminiscing on her senior year, Carstyn Anderson said, “This season, I have been going with the mindset of just having fun. It’s my senior year, and I’ve been trying to enjoy it in every way possible, especially the little memories I make with my teammates.” 

Leading up to their rival rematch against Basehor-Linwood on February 17th, the Lady Vikes continued to work hard to come out on top this time.

Sophomore, Jaida Stallbaumer, mentioned leading up the game, “We have worked on playing together. We have also worked more on our defense to pressure them more.”

Facing their only loss for the season, the Lady Vikes had some serious business to attend to. There is no doubt the team wanted to prove something when they faced them again.

On February 17th, the Lady Vikes faced Basehor-Linwood again on Snowball night. With the cheering crowd and student section, the Lady Vikes started the game off strong. In the first half, the score was 47-20, and they were just getting started.

The Lady Vikes’ defense was unbeatable, and their offense flowed well with every fast break. In the end, the Lady Vikes came out on top with a score of 66-34. Leading up to this game, the girls really wanted to get their own revenge for losing in double overtime earlier in the season.

One thing that helped the team pull through with the win, Brooklyn Gormley stated, “I think our mentality was the thing we focused on the most, and we came out with a great mentality. And we just stuck it to them and kept it on them.”

After the game, speaking to Coach Tinsley regarding what changed for the Lady Vikes, “The difference between this game and last game was we were a focused team, and at the last game, they took it to us. We set the tone from the get-go tonight.” 

With the regular season coming to a close soon with a current record of 18-1, the Lady Vikes look into the future and what it might hold for them.

To prepare for Sub-State and hopefully the State Tournament, Tinsley stated, “We have to continue to treat each game like the most important game of the season, and we want to continue to push hard in practice, so we are at our best when our best is needed.”

There are two more regular-season games that you will not want to miss! Leading up to post-season games, the Lady Vikes will need all the support they can get. Come out and support your Lady Vikes Basketball team! Congratulations to the Lady Vikes and their accomplishments so far. BEASTMODE!