BREVARD, N.C. - The Vikings hit the road on Tuesday evening for some Pre-Thanksgiving hoops against Brevard, as they dominated the paint with a thrilling 73-63 victory.
Berry was paced by four double-digit scorers, including a dominant double-double from Elly Callihan, who had 20 points and 15 rebounds (most she has had since February 5, 2023). Her frontcourt mate Briaiah Lewis also added 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Lauren Ellard and Callie Jackson added 14 and 11, respectively. Ellard also added a career-high nine rebounds to round out her productive evening.
The game began with a slow start from the Vikings as they fell behind 2-10 to start things off, as the Tornadoes could not miss in the opening minutes. Berry quickly responded with a jump shot from Briaiah Lewis and a late shot clock three-pointer set up by a Jeryn Jarrett drive and dish and a Lauren Ellard three pointer. Lewis and Ellard would connect a few possessions later, as Ellard finished a layup to bring the Vikings within one, 9-10.
Brevard finally responded with a couple of buckets to take a 16-10 lead, but Jeryn Jarrett quickly responded with a three-pointer of her own to bring Berry back within three. Lewis then took over from the post with a tough spinning layup just before Ellard shot the basketball after coming off a screen and gifted the Vikings their first lead of the game 18-16.
The second period was all Vikings, as Berry opened up a vicious 13-0 run, powered by strong post moves from Lewis, who had 11 points at the break. A couple of Callie Jackson free throws closed out the half for the Vikings, as they held a commanding 36-26 lead at halftime.
The second half got going with a beautiful cross-court pass from Lewis to Jackson, as she drilled the mid-range corner jump shot that made the score 40-28 with Berry on top. The two-man game on the inside from Lewis and Callihan continued to be a factor, as Lewis dumped off a gorgeous entry pass to Callihan, who laid it off the glass to make the score 44-30 with just over 7:30 left in the third quarter. One of Berry's most impressive stretches of defense came with 6:20 left in the third, as the Vikings rotated flawlessly, and capped off the possession with a patented charge taken on the baseline by Elly Callihan.
A couple of turnovers from the Vikings allowed the Tornadoes to sneak back into a single-digit deficit, as they trailed the Vikings by six with less than a minute left in the third. A second straight Brevard three-pointer cut the Berry lead to three at the end of the third period, despite the Vikings dominating the opening minutes of the second half.
Alana Azeta came up big with a layup under the basket to extend their lead to 48-43 with just under nine minutes remaining in the game. A Tornado and-one would cut the Berry lead to one just a few minutes later, just as the Vikings starters were reentering the game. After falling behind by one, Ellard sent through a cross-court pass to a wide-open Callie Jackson, who buried a corner three to give Berry a 51-49 lead with five and a half minutes left. Brevard quickly responded with a three of their own though to take a 52-51 advantage.
Down 53-54, the Vikings found offense in their most reliable connection with a great duck-in and hook shot from Callihan, courtesy of a Lewis entry pass to take a one point lead with under four minutes to play.
Down 55-56, the Vikings forced a huge turnover, as the Tornadoes threw the ball out of bounds with 31 seconds left. Berry would push the ball past half court before calling a timeout with just over 20 seconds to play to set up yet another fiery conclusion. Berry drew up a play to throw the ball inside to a red-hot Lewis, but instead, Jarrett went to plan B, as she reversed the ball back to a hot-and-ready Elly Callihan, who nailed her first three of the contest in ago-ahead moment to push Vikings back into a 58-56 lead with four seconds left. The interior defense of the Vikings had an uncharacteristic breakdown in the final seconds as a Tornado found herself wide open under the basket for a layup to push the game to overtime.
The overtime period began with a timely bucket from Callihan, as she called her own number with a spin and drive to the rack, where she absorbed contact and capped it off with a flawless finish and conversion of the and-one to give Berry a 61-58 lead. The stellar inside play continued with Lewis bulldozing her way to the rim and laying the ball in with finesse to push the Viking lead back out to 3. A costly full-court turnover for the Tornadoes set up another monumental Callihan three-ball and she sank it to give Berry a 66-60 advantage with under 3 minutes left in overtime. Callihan's presence all over the court continued to be a factor, this time with a dime to Ellard, who hit a three from the corner to give Berry a 71-61 lead with just a minute and a half to play.
Berry then closed out a thrilling victory with ball control and strong defense, as they head into Thanksgiving with a 73-63 win. The Vikings are in action again on November 30 at home for the first time this season against Warren Wilson at 1 PM.
