Conference View

Girls

Perham and West Central Area are looking like they are rising to the top of the Girls' Basketball world. . . .

The Perham girls are currently 4 - 0 with impressive back to back wins over DGF and Hawley.

Pelican Rapids W 75-51
Ulen-Hitterdal W 65-16
DGF W 60-52
Hawley W 53-35

West Central Area is off to an awesome 5 - 0 start. Their big wins were over DGF(62 to 54) and a solid win against Frazee(73 -55)

The Yellowjackets and Knights could face off against each other at the Pelican Rapids Holiday Tournament Championship on December 30th.

As for the Viking girls their game against DGF was rescheduled for the afternoon of January 10th. Prior to that the Vikings had to play Perham, Hawley and Barnesville and have yet to break into the win column.

Coach Gravalin is hoping his girls have made the improvements needed as they head into some winnable games in the next couple of weeks. It is becoming apparent that the Vikings need Haley Hoyer and Kendra Coleman to stay out of foul trouble in order for them to be successful. Hoyer's Foul trouble against the Barnesville Trojans was a key reason they fell a little short in the second half.

DID YOU KNOW. . . The Viking girls started an 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th & 12th grader in their last game!!! A sharp contrast to the boys team who start and play one 12th grader after another. (experience pays off. . .thus all those years of Al Seigle saying the best time to play a sophomore is when he is a senior rings true!!!)

Boys

It is no surprise that the Vikings are sitting atop the HOL with a 4 - 0 record. But what is happening below them?

The Breckenridge cowboys are looking pretty solid. They are off to a 4 & 1 start with an impressive win against East Grand Forks(73-56). EGF is expected to be a serious contender for the Section Championship come March. Breckenridge's only loss came the night after the East Grand game as they fell to Wahpeton(48 - 55)

It sounds like the Cowboys have a solid group of athletes but one of their keys to victory is the play of Bryan Jacklitch who hit a school record 10 three pointers in his 35 point effort against East Grand Forks. Another player to watch on this team is Joe Terfehr who gives the Cowboys a strong inside presence.

After the Cowboys it is anybodies guess. . . LPA has a stable of solid athletes led by Lake Park-Audubon’s Zach Downs who scored 35 points as the Raiders defeated Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton 85-74 last night. They are currently 3 and 0 with wins over West Central Area and Frazee.

Hawley???? Big Questions surround this team because they played with-out their top player in Beau Sorenson for the first couple games. They are still sitting with a 3 - 1 record with their only loss coming at the hands of DGF(56-48). Sorenson and others are back after their rules violations suspensions and they posted 95 points last night against lowly Ulen-Hitterdal.

As for the boys. . .KAIZEN (It rhymes with 'dry pen') - Coach Strand has chosen this term as a sort of "theme" for this year's team. It is a Japanese term referring to the philosophy of constant improvement. . .one that doesn't tolerate wasteful activities. The boys need to really latch onto this philosophy in practice as they have the capabilities to push each other to the next level.

The LPA game will be an interesting match up for the Vikings on Monday. LPA has been a traditional cellar dweller in the HOL conference but this year they are looking at finishing near the top.