The Valparaiso Vikings extended their postseason success on Friday against the Portage Indians. They blew past the Indians 48-20 on the road. Valparaiso has made a habit of sweeping their opponents off the court, having now won 12 games by 20 points or more this season.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Valparaiso to victory, but perhaps none more so than Lillian Barnes, who scored 11 points along with four blocks and three steals. Barnes is on a roll when it comes to steals, as she's now grabbed three or more in the last eight games she's played. The team also got some help courtesy of Becca Gerdt, who scored ten points along with six rebounds and three steals.
Portage lost despite a true team effort on the offense, the best among them being Ava Kingery, who scored 11 points. That was a full 55% of Portage's points, marking the fourth time in a row she's earned more than a third of the team's points.
Valparaiso is on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight games, which provided a nice bump to their 17-7 record this season. As for Portage, this is the second loss in a row for them and nudges their season record down to 13-12.
Valparaiso won't have much time to rest: their next game is against the Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. on February 3rd. Each of these teams will be fighting to keep a win streak alive as Crown Point comes in on three and the Vikings on four. Portage does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
