ATLANTA, Ga. - The Vikings took on cross-town rival, Oglethorpe, in a matchup that Berry controlled from start to finish and prevailed in victory, 70-58.
The Viking offense was fueled by a balanced attack, led by Sylvia Kahoro, who had 15 points and 4 rebounds. She was joined by Elly Callihan and Kenadie Lee, who poured in 12 points each. Lee also added 5 huge assists.
Freshman Briaiah Lewis rounded out the double-figure scoring with 11 points.
The first quarter began with the Vikings coming out with a vengeance as they raced out to a 12-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game and also forced nine turnovers in the first period. With just under five minutes to play, Lee drove into the lane and kicked the ball out to Sylvia Kahoro, who nailed a three-pointer to extend the lead to 15-2. The Stormy Petrels finally responded though, as they closed out the quarter with a 5-2 run, leaving the Vikings lead at 10, 17-7.
The second period brought more of the same on-ball defensive intensity from the Vikings. Offensively, The Vikings exploded to unleash a 12-4 run that took the wind out of the Stormy Petrels' sails. Elly Callihan got involved as she rebounded a missed shot and finished a putback to extend the Viking lead to 12 with just over 8 minutes left in the half. On the very next possession, Jayda Wood jumped a passing lane and took it coast-to-coast for an easy layup to make the score 21-7.
Berry continued to put the hammer down later in the half, as they ended the quarter with a resounding 19-7 run that was started by an excellent three-point shot from Kahoro as Lee found her again for her second assist of the contest. The huge run left the Vikings firmly in control with a 40-16 lead at the half.
The second half of play began slowly offensively for Berry until Jeryn Jarrett swung the ball to Lee, who drained a three-pointer that kept the Vikings ahead, 43-18, with 7:51 to play in the third quarter. Later in the half, Lee drove to the basket and made a textbook bounce pass to Elly Callihan on the baseline, who finished an easy layup off the window to increase the Berry lead to 25 with just over five minutes left in the quarter. Later in the quarter, Wood broke an Oglethorpe press and sent in an entry pass to an open Emma Hempker who finished a layup that made the score 58-34 at the end of the third period.
Oglethorpe made a move in the fourth quarter in an effort to make a comeback. They cut the Berry lead to just 11 with 4:34 to play. The Vikings calmly responded as Lee dished the ball to Briaiah Lewis down low, who finished a layup to make the score 64-50. The Stormy Petrels quickly responded with a 4-0 run though, as they trailed by only ten with 2:38 to play. Excellent time management from Berry would salt away the game and earn the Vikings a 70-58 victory.
Berry will be on the court again for senior day against Millsaps on February 16 at 1 PM ET.
