The Lady Vikings are getting ready to make another run to the state championship game

The Lady Vikings are getting ready to make another run to the state championship game

By Neill Kirkpatrick

Special to the HSSR

Denmark – Third ranked Denmark-Olar Lady Vikings are rounding into playoff form but head coach Terence Jones knows his team still has a lot of work to do if they are going to defend their upper state championship and make it to their fourth straight Class A state championship game.

“We need to play for the full 32 minutes. We have gotten off to fast starts at times and we have started slowly in games. We cannot take anyone lightly. We have to continue to play hard,” coach Jones told the Times Democrat.

The Lady Vikings are 18-4 overall but more importantly they are 9-0 in region 4 A play with a region championship game coming up against county rival Bamberg Ehrhardt (20-2/8-1). A win will be the Lady Vikings fifth consecutive region championship and would run their region winning streak to 58 consecutive games.

“The region championship is one of our goals, but it isn’t the ultimate goal,” coach Jones said. “We still have a lot of work to do before the playoffs. We will continue to scrimmage in practice and clean up some of the mistakes.”

Coach Jones has three seniors that have been the leaders of the team in Chardasia Jackson, Aveion Walker, and Ry”Naisha Barnes. Walker is a returning All State selection after averaging a double-double last year. She was also named as one of the top five seniors in Class A entering the year. She has played at an All-State level again this year leading the Lady Vikings in rebounds at 9 a game and is second in scoring at 11.6 ppg and is one of six Lady Vikings averaging over three steals per game at 4.2 per contest. She has over 1200 career points with a shot at 1000 career rebounds and 400 steals.

Barnes is averaging over 7 ppg to go with 3.7 boards and 3.5 steals a night.

Juniors Kalen Mayes and Ashanti Johnson have provided an inside/ outside punch for the Lady Vikings offense. Mayes leads the team in scoring at 13.4 ppg and is averaging 3.8 steals a game while Johnson is second on the team in rebounding at 5.5 rpg.

Joy Johnson, a sophomore, is third on the team in scoring at 8.2 ppg. That is up from the 6.5 ppg she averaged last season. If she continues at her present pace she could be another 1000-point career scorer.

Freshman Azauria Wright has picked up where she left off as an eighth grader averaging over four points a game and five boards a game while eighth grader Amuria Wright leads the team in steals at 4.8 per game and is knocking down 6.5 ppg