DES MOINES, IOWA - The Grand View women's basketball team showed grit Tuesday night, grinding out a hard-fought 66-60 victory over Park University in a game that tested their resolve from start to finish.
The opening quarter was a physical, back-and-forth battle.
Eva Solseth broke through with a three-pointer assisted by
Anna Gossling to give the Vikings an early 3-0 lead, but Park's Nevaeh Spillman put up a fight scoring inside and keeping the Pirates close. The quarter featured multiple lead changes with neither team able to establish control. Gossling scored consecutive layups to keep Grand View ahead, but Nadiyah Cooper's three-pointer gave Park a brief 13-11 lead. Gossling answered with a three-pointer assisted by Solseth, but Spillman's buzzer-beating layup left the Vikings down one point at 16-17.
The second quarter belonged to Park, as Cooper dominated inside and the Pirates built their largest lead at 35-23. Grand View's veteran leadership emerged in the final minutes.
Claire Galbraith caught fire from beyond the arc with back-to-back three-pointers, and
Taryn Ottemann knocked down two crucial free throws. What had been a 12-point deficit became a manageable 37-33 hole at halftime.
The third quarter turned into a defensive battle.
Amaya Davison converted a three-point play and later gave Grand View the lead with a three-pointer assisted by Gossling. Park kept answering, with Cooper tying the game at 43-43, but Galbraith and Solseth came through with clutch free throws. Davison's layup gave the Vikings a 50-47 lead heading into the final period.
The fourth quarter belonged to
Anna Gossling. She delivered time and again, hitting three-pointers assisted by Galbraith to extend Grand View's lead.
Abigail Jones added crucial blocks and a three-pointer to make it 61-56. Park kept battling behind Spillman's relentless inside scoring, but Gossling had all the answers. With the Vikings clinging to a three-point lead late, she drained another deep three to push it to 64-58, then sealed the game with two free throws in the final seconds.
GAME NOTES:
- Anna Gossling led all scorers with 26 points on 4-8 from three-point range.
- Amaya Davison contributed 17 points with 5 rebounds and 2 steals.
- Claire Galbraith added 8 points with 7 rebounds, while Eva Solseth chipped in 8 points.
- Abigail Jones recorded 6 blocks in 15 minutes of play.
- Grand View shot 84.2% from the free-throw line in the clutch victory.
WHAT'S NEXT?
Grand View improves to 19-7 overall and 16-2 in conference play, showing championship character in a tough victory over a resilient Park team. The Vikings will close the regular season on the road, playing Central Methodist on Saturday, February 14th, and Graceland on Wednesday, February 18th. The Vikings currently sit 3rd in the conference narrowly following Benedictine and Mid-America Nazarene
