Boreal Access

The Cook County Viking Girls basketball team had a busy Christmas break, including many practices and one game. The single game came just two days before Christmas at Silver Bay in front of a hostile crowd of about 31. Although the atmosphere in the gym was lacking intensity the Vikings found a way to press and play hard. The girls took a 33-13 halftime lead and finished the Mariners off in the 2^nd half winning 62-35. It wasn’t the best game of the season, but in tough conditions the girls still played solid. Ashley Deschampe was tops in the scoring column, dropping 19 points, including 3 of the Viking’s 5 three pointers. Essa Jacobsen added 16 points and 11 boards while fellow post Brea Boomer totaled 10 points and 7 rebounds. Both girls had 7 steals on the back end of the press, too. Christina Nelson and Ailee Larson did a great job of setting up scorers with 4 assists each. Although the Mariners shot a better percentage, 40% to 36 %, the Vikings made 4 more three pointers, took twice as many shots by hoisting 72 to Silver Bay’s 37, and had only 16 turnovers compared to the Mariner’s 31. The Vikings improved to 6-2 with the win and are in 2^nd place in the Polar League. The next action is a Polar League game against a tough Moose Lake-Willow River team tomorrow night at 4:45 in the Cook County Gym. Come and check out the double header against the Rebels

        Again, the Vikings got to play at home against a Polar League opponent when Cromwell came to town on Thursday night. The girls jumped out to an early lead and Cromwell could never recover with the Vikings’ stifling defensive pressure keeping the Cardinals off the board. The Vikings pressed their way to a 30-6 halftime lead and finished the 2^nd half just as strong, winning 59-22. Cromwell came into the game with a 4-0 record and had some good shooters but Ashley Deschampe, Ailee Larson, Kristina Rude, and Christina Nelson didn’t allow any open shots and deflected many passes to frustrate the Cardinal guards. Brea Boomer, Essa Jacobsen, and Bekah Laky controlled the glass, not allowing 2^nd chance opportunities. On the offensive side of the ball, Ashley Deschampe got things rolling, scoring all 7 of her points in the 1^st half. Nelson and Jacobsen did the rest of the damage, each scoring 16 points. Essa posted up hard, fighting through double teams all night to get hers and Nelson took over the 2^nd half, slicing and dicing through the defense for her points. Boomer chipped in 9 points, mostly off of offensive rebounds and put backs. The Vikings have two more games over Christmas break, both on the road, before returning for school and a January 6^th home game against Moose Lake-Willow River.

It was good to be home on a frigid Tuesday night when Two Harbors came to town for a North Shore battle. As cold as it was outside, the nets were just as cold inside, hardly getting any action from the Cook County shooters. On an off shooting night for the Vikings, the girls played hard nosed defense to come away with a gutsy 42-40 victory, their 3^rd of the season. The pressure applied kept Two Harbors off the scoreboard for the last six minutes of the game until a last second three pointer. Floor leaders Essa Jacobsen and Christina Nelson led the Vikings’ late game comeback. Jacobsen tallied a season high 17 points and 17 rebounds while Nelson had 12 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, and 3 steals, and Kristina Rude came off the bench to provide a spark and make some clutch free throws down the stretch.