Lady Vikings get big wins over Mission, Noxon

The Lady Vikings are moving on up in the District 13/14 C standings after two more decisive wins this week over Mission last Thursday and Noxon on Saturday, and a big win at St. Regis Tuesday night.

The Lady Vikings beat St. Regis 56-31 Tuesday night, but individual results weren't available prior to presstime.

Thursday's 41-31 win over the Lady Bulldogs was the confidence booster the team needed to face Class C rival Noxon on Saturday, who was neck-and-neck with the Lady Vikings in the standings prior to Saturday's game.

Charlo's only loss of the season was to the Lady Bulldogs in December, but they looked like a completely different team last Thursday, led by Hayley Carr with 15 points and great defense from the entire team.

In the new District 13/14 standings, games against Class B schools count for or against the Class C school, but not vice versa.

Charlo jumped out to an 8-0 lead, and went up 14-7 after the first quarter. Stevie-Leigh Sammons had a steal for a lay-up, and then a couple of buckets by Carr made it 22-13. Samijo Kain had a steal with 20 seconds left in the half, but the Lady Vikes couldn't convert.

In the third, Ma'Rya Hungerford was all over the place on defense, and hit a jumper with three seconds left in the third to give the team a 30-19 lead.

A lay-up by Carr with 1:30 left in the game gave the girls a 10-point lead, and Jessica Bucholz put the icing on the cake with a bucket and two free throws to end the game.

Hungerford finished with eight points, Bucholz and Rhondell Esterby had five each, and Sammons and Amanda Murphy both had four points.

Against Noxon, who was only a half game back in the standings at that point, the girls needed a big win, and the team played well on Saturday.

Esterby and Hungerford traded lay-ups off of give-and-goes early in the first, and a dish to Kain from Hungerford for the lay-up with two seconds left in the first brought the team to within two points of Noxon.

Murphy's bucket in the second tied the game at 20, and then two free throws by Carr and two more by Murphy on a technical foul against Noxon gave the girls a 24-20 lead. Kain drained a 3-pointer with six seconds left in the half to give the team a 27-20 lead.

A couple of buckets by Esterby and Bucholz in the third helped the team to a 37-32 lead at the end of the period.

In the fourth, it was all Hungerford, as her team spread out to open up the defense and allow Hungerford to do what she does best - dribble all around her defender, killing time off the clock. After splitting the defense and eating about 45 seconds off the clock with each possession, Hungerford would then drive the lane for a lay-up, and often draw the foul in the process.

She had nine of her 13 points in the fourth, including five free throws.

Once, after burning a minute off the clock, Murphy came up with a steal to give Hungerford another chance. All in all, Hungerford took about four minutes of the last period away from Noxon, and the Lady Vikes won 50-44.

Hungerford's 13 led the team, but she had plenty of support. Bucholz had nine points, Carr had 10, Esterby had eight, and Murphy and Kain had five each.

The Lady Vikings will travel to Two Eagle on Thursday before hosting Hot Springs on Friday.