NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Vikings leave the Music City Classic 6-6 after suffering a blowout loss against the #11 ranked John Carroll University Blue Streaks. Elly Callihan finished as Berry's leading scorer with 14 points.
The game got going with John Carroll winning the tip. The Blue Streak's offense took no time to settle in, immediately draining two straight threes to take a 6-0 lead early in the first. On the other end, Gabrielle Aiello broke the seal for Berry, erasing the zero after getting to the basket for a reverse layup. The Vikings found a little bit of a rhythm but couldn't overcome John Carroll's offensive groove. Their red-hot shooting extended the lead to double-digits by the end of the first quarter, the score 25-12.
The Vikings had some ground to recover as they began the second quarter, but Jade Lewis opened the second quarter with a big three to get them back on track. Her sister, Briaiah Lewis, helped the Vikings slowly work back into it, nailing a jumper to bring them back within single digits. After going cold for a while, John Carroll finally scored their first bucket for the quarter with six minutes on the clock and pushed their lead back to double digits. The Blue Streaks continued their hot streak, going on a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 19 points. Lauren Ellard ended the Vikings' cold spell at the free-throw line for the last points of the half, the score 39-22.
The Blue Streaks kept the momentum rolling, quickly extending the lead to 23 after making two threes in a row to kick off the second half. Lauren Ellard got the Vikings on the scoreboard for the second half, but Berry's offense continued to stall as they couldn't find the bottom of the bucket. On the other end, John Carroll was firing at will, thriving behind the three-point line to push the lead to a game high of 31 before the end of the quarter.
The game was all but over entering the fourth quarter, but the Vikings continued to battle and got on the board first in the fourth quarter after a layup from Ava Travis. The Vikings managed to outscore the Blue Streaks in the fourth quarter, but the game still ended in John Carroll's favor, the final score 47-73.
The Vikings leave Music City for Clarksville, looking to regain their rhythm in an exhibition game against the Austin Peay State University Governors on Sunday, December 28th, at 3:00 p.m.
