GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Vikings faced the Guilford College Quakers in the final game of the Guilford Invitational, as they won in a tightly contested battle by a final score of 56-54.
Sylvia Kahoro came up with clutch bucket after clutch bucket for the Vikings as she poured in 22 points and 4 rebounds. Briaiah Lewis also scored in double figures with 12 points and six rebounds. Elly Callihan was a force on the glass with ten rebounds to go along with her 10 points.
Berry got off to a bit of a slow start as they shot just 3/9 in the first quarter and fell behind 18-10 after one. Freshman Briaiah Lewis was affective from all three levels and paced the Vikings in the first, as she scored 8 of the 10 Viking first-quarter points.
The shooting woes continued for the Vikings in the second quarter, but the Vikings' grit and intensity defensively kept them in striking distance. Midway through the quarter, Jeryn Jarrett turned defense into offense, as she stole the ball and finished a layup on the other end to bring the Vikings back within 9, 22-13. Briaiah Lewis continued her stellar performance when she knocked down a jump shot off of an assist from Elly Callihan that cut the Guilford lead to 6 with 4:10 left in the first half. Guilford would close out the half on a 6-3 run to give themselves a 28-19 lead at the half.
It was a tale of two halves in the 3rd quarter as Berry flipped the switch on offensively. With just over 8 minutes to play in the first half, Sylvia Kahoro scored five straight points for the Vikings, bringing them within 7, 31-24. A few minutes later, Kahoro buried a three-pointer that cut the Guilford lead to just five points. Briaiah Lewis then found Elly Callihan for a smooth jump shot that had the Vikings knocking on the door of a lead with 4:52 to play in the 3rd quarter. With 20 seconds left in the quarter, Karlee Armstrong took the ball to the rack with authority and finished a layup that cut the deficit to just one point, 40-39.
With four minutes to play in the final period, Berry faced a seven-point deficit, 52-45. Despite being behind, the Vikings showed no quit and fought through the adversity. Sylvia Kahoro calmly scored back-to-back layups to bring the Vikings back within three points. As the game approached the two-minute mark, the Vikings found a rhythm with a layup from Briaiah Lewis and a three-pointer from Sylvia Kahoro on consecutive offensive possessions to give Berry a 54-52 lead with 1:40 to play. Berry's defense would hold strong down the stretch with Kahoro forcing two tough shots in the final seconds from Guilford that both missed to end the game in a Viking victory, 56-54.
The Vikings will be in action again on January 4 at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, in an exhibition game. Tip-off is set for 3 PM ET.
