The Valparaiso Vikings's recent rough patch got a bit rougher on Wednesday after their fourth straight loss. They fell just short of Lawrence North by a score of 63-61. Despite running the score up even higher than they did last Thursday (55), Valparaiso still had to take the loss.
Despite the loss, Valparaiso saw an underclassman step up: Lillian Barnes scored 33 points along with seven rebounds and five assists. The matchup was Barnes' 11th in a row with at least ten points. Becca Gerdt was another key contributor, scoring 12 points along with eight rebounds.
Even though they lost, Valparaiso were smashing the offensive glass and finished the game with 13 offensive rebounds. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Lawrence North only pulled down five offensive rebounds.
Leading Lawrence North to victory were Kamara Mills and Kya Hurt. Mills scored 14 points, while Hurt scored 16 points along with five assists. Mills continues to roll, besting her previous point total in each of the last three games she's played. Another player making a difference was Keadriah Butler, who scored nine points.
Valparaiso's loss dropped their record down to 10-6. As for Lawrence North, the win (which was their fifth in a row) raised their record to 14-3.
Valparaiso will be playing in front of their home fans against Portage at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. That game will pit two of the most dominant guards against one another: Ava Kingery and Barnes. As for Lawrence North, they will head out on the road to face off against Lawrence Central at 7:30 p.m. on January 11th. Lawrence Central will be looking to keep their nine-game home win streak alive.
