Vikings almost pull off the upset; travel to Mio tonight

The Cedarville Trojans snapped Posen?s five-game winning streak Tuesday, narrowly getting by an upset-minded Viking team that had a two-point lead with about a minute to play. Senior Michelle Bednarski netted a shot to give Posen a 61-59 lead after getting a pretty feed from junior Megan Latz, but the Vikings couldn?t hang on against the senior-laden roster from the UP. The Trojans tied the game on their next possession and stole the ball the next two times the Vikings attempted to get the ball past halfcourt. On one of the thefts, the player went right in for the game-winning layup.

Posen had possession, and was down by only two, but turned the ball over on a traveling call. ?I thought we had them,? said Posen coach Tom Schellie.

THE VIKINGS handled the press well, keeping the ball in the middle of the court, and scoring easy buckets when they got by the defense, but a couple of mental mistakes at the end hurt. ?I?m proud of the way we played,? Scellie said of his players who lost by 38 in the first game at Cedarville, September 9. Posen had overcome an eight-point deficit with more than five minutes to play in the fourth quarter, but the Trojans went on an 18-8 run. The Vikes were in the double-bonus late in the fourth quarter but made only about half their shots, going 13-for-23 in the game.

The Vikings are 7-3 overall, with two losses to Cedarville, and 5-1 in the North Star League. The only league loss came against Mio, September 4, who they play tonight. ?We are playing good,? said Schellie, who was looking forward to seeing how they match up with the Thunderbolts, after the terrific effort against Cedarville.

THE SCORE was knotted at 28-all at halftime, but Cedarville picked up the intensity and went up by five, 35-30, in the early minutes of the third quarter. Posen played catch-up until the fourth quarter. With 4:56 left in the fourth, the crowd started sensing something special could happen, when senior Shannon Ciarkowski hit a three-pointer, trimming the Cedarville lead to four, 53-49. Freshman Mary Calhoun, on a pass from Ciarkowski, scored on a jumper, but the Trojans wouldn?t back down, answering with another field goal. The score was 59-54 when the Vikes went on their final 7-0 run. Junior Katie Lewandowski hit a jumper and Ciarkowski

made a free throw, which put Posen within two, 59-57, when Calhoun went to the charity stripe and drained both to tie the game.

That set up the go-ahead bucket by Bednarski. She anxiously watched the shot roll around when it fell in, and leaped in the air as she retreated back on defense. The crowd cheered as loud as it has all year for the girls. Bednarski had six field goals and finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Ciarkowski had 12 points and 13 boards. Calhoun had nine points, and was five-for-six from the free throw line, and led the team with three steals. The Trojans? Jenna Duncan had 21 points.

THE VIKINGS had a decisive victory over Hillman last Thursday, 57-32. Ciarkowski had 18. The junior varsity lost to Cedarville 54-33, but defeated Hillman, 37-28, last Thursday. Brittany Styma led the scoring in both games, with 10 against Cedarville and 11 against Hillman. The JV is 8-2 and 6-0 in the North Star League and take on a Mio team that they defeated in overtime the first time the teams met.