STERLING, Kan. – The Smoky Valley Viking basketball teams competed in the Sterling Invitational Tournament last week and with mixed results, the girls finished in 5th Place and the boys took 6th Place for the week.
Girls
Smoky Valley opened the tournament on Tuesday with a 42-31 loss to Hugoton. The Eagles controlled the game most of the way, taking a 27-12 lead into the halftime locker room. The Vikings fought back, but never closed the gap to less than seven points in the 11-point loss. Elsie Boughfman led Smoky Valley with 13 points and Kat Blanchat scored 10.
In the consolation semifinals, the Vikings bounced back in a big way with a 55-27 win over Trinity Catholic on Thursday. The Celtics actually got out to an 8-2 lead early, but Smoky Valley switched up their defense and went on a 22-0 run to take a 24-8 lead early in the second quarter. They would control the game from there behind a 26-point, 15-rebound double-double from Blanchat. Boughfman was in double figures again as well with 15 points in the win.
The week finished with a 5th Place showdown against the host school Sterling. Coming off of their first win of the season the day prior, the Black Bears were focused. Smoky Valley led by as many as eight late in the first half, but an 8-0 run to end the third quarter actually gave Sterling a 24-22 lead. However, the Vikings outscored the Black Bears 11-3 in the final frame for a 33-27 win. Blanchat was in double figures for the 11th time in 11 games, finishing with 15 points in the victory.
Smoky Valley is now 4-7 on the season and will be back on the court Tuesday night in a rematch with Trinity Catholic in Lindsborg.
Boys
Smoky Valley faced a tall task in the first round, taking on the host school Sterling, which ended up finishing in second place by the end of the week. In the opening round, the Vikings were able to hang tough in the first quarter, trailing just 13-10 after one. However, the Black Bears were rolling in the second quarter with a 22-6 advantage. A 36-11 third quarter put the game on ice, as Sterling went on to an 87-32 win. Ty Heitschmidt scored 13 points while Braylon Olson added 10 for the Vikings.
In the semifinals, Smoky Valley was the team to get off to the strong start, and they held that throughout in a win over Kingman. The Vikings led 19-4 after the first quarter and went on to a 62-45 victory in the end. Heitschmidt and Olson were the leaders again, as Heitschmidt dropped a career-high 25 points and finished with 13 rebounds for the double-double. Olson added 14 points and four steals in the win.
The 5th Place game on Friday was a rematch from earlier in the season against Southeast of Saline. The Vikings played much better than the first time around, where they lost 69-23 at Gypsum on January 9. It was still tough to get offense going on Friday as the Trojans held a 26-8 lead at halftime. The Vikings did outscore the Trojans 24-22 in the second half in the 48-32 loss. Heitschmidt was the leader again for Smoky Valley, finishing with 18 points, scoring 12 in the fourth quarter.
Smoky Valley is 3-8 on the season after the sixth place finish in Sterling. They are back at it on Tuesday night against Trinity Catholic at home.