Photo by Chris Drummond Minneota’s Faith Myhre looks for an open teammate to pass the ball to in Thursday night’s action against the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton Knights.

MINNEOTA– On a senior night, the Minneota Vikings girls’ basketball team defeated the Russell Tyler Ruthton Knights 54-47 on Thursday evening. It was the second time in a week that the Vikings beat the Knights and had to do so in comeback fashion.

The Knights started the game by hitting multiple outside shots, led by Lexi Schreurs, who scored a team-high 16 points on the night.

The Vikings came out lackadaisical and turned over the ball multiple times. The Vikings couldn’t find a rhythm and couldn’t put the ball into the hole.

There was one instance where Vikings head coach Alan Panka called a timeout when the Vikings inbounded the ball and all the players ran down the court, leaving the ball behind.

“Normally I don’t get too fired up on a timeout but it was a lot of letting them know that they’re not playing well,” Panka said. “We needed to focus and get back to playing with some intensity.”

That’s exactly what the Vikings did.

The Vikings came out of halftime scoring the first 6 points of the half, forcing a Knights timeout.

The Vikings continued to pour it on, implementing a zone defense, that would stifle the Knights’ offense.

The misses by the Knights would lead to rebounds by Ireland Stassen and passes to Grace Hennen for easy transition points.

The Vikings went on a 22-3 run and led by 10 points and wouldn’t relinquish the lead once they got it. Free throws would give the Vikings more separation and allow them to grab the victory 54-47

Stassen scored 12 of her game-high 19 points, had 14 rebounds, and a team-high seven assists. Hennen finished with 16 points and had seven rebounds.

“At the beginning of the game, we were out of sorts,” Stassen said. “We played timid and we were lazy on defense. In the second half, we were able to score a lot of transition baskets because their heads are turned and Hennen was able to catch and finish. I knew in the second half, I had to take over and get my teammates more involved.”

Hennen also did a great defensive job on Tatum Hess limiting her to 2-12 shooting with 6 points and the Vikings held the Knights to 14 second-half points.

“Hennen is one of the best defenders in the area, obviously,” Panka said. “She gets to play the best guard every night. I’d take Hennen over anybody. She is quick, strong, and fast and knows where to be on defense. She does all the little things to be a great defender.”

Schreurs also had a team-high six rebounds in the loss.

Camry Swanson and Allyson Nelson each had 7 points in the contest. Nelson had six rebounds and Swanson finished with five rebounds.

The Minneota Vikings (15-4) will be back in action on Monday as they host the Canby Lancers. The Knights will also play next Monday as they host the Tracy-Milroy-Balaton Panthers.

Both games will tip off at 7:15 p.m.