FAYETTE, MO - The Grand View women's basketball team showed championship poise on the road Saturday afternoon, weathering multiple rallies to secure a crucial 76-71 victory over Central Methodist in a game that went down to the final seconds.
The opening quarter set the tone for a back-and-forth battle. Anna Gossling opened the scoring with a three-pointer assisted by Amaya Davison, giving the Vikings an early 3-0 lead. Central Methodist answered immediately with a three-pointer to tie it at 3-3. Ellie Knock broke through with a layup to push Grand View ahead 5-3, but the Eagles matched her effort to knot the game at 5-5. Gossling kept the Vikings ahead with a mid-range jumper, but Central Methodist continued to battle, tying it again at 7-7. The quarter belonged to Gossling, who drained another three-pointer assisted by Claire Galbraith to extend the lead to 16-7. Abigail Jones added a late three-pointer, and despite the Eagles' late free throws, Grand View held a 19-13 advantage after one.
The second quarter turned into an offensive showcase with both teams trading blows. Davison opened the scoring with a jumper, but Central Methodist kept the game close with inside scoring. The Eagles caught fire from beyond the arc with back-to-back three-pointers that helped erase the deficit. Eva Solseth answered with a three-pointer of her own to keep Grand View ahead 26-21, but Central Methodist continued their strong play with consecutive layups that tied the game at 28-28. After the Eagles took a 31-28 lead with another three-pointer, Jones stepped up with clutch three-pointers assisted by Lily Smith and Gossling to give the Vikings a 34-33 edge. Gossling added another triple late in the quarter, but Central Methodist's buzzer-beating layup sent the teams to halftime knotted at 37-37.
The third quarter became a defensive grind with neither team able to pull away. Knock gave Grand View a 40-37 lead with a three-pointer assisted by Davison, but the Eagles responded with a layup to cut it to one. Gossling converted inside to extend the lead back to three at 42-39, but Central Methodist answered to keep it close. After Davison's layup pushed it to 44-41, the Eagles hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 44-44. Knock fought for an offensive rebound and scored to give Grand View a 46-44 lead, but Central Methodist tied it again at 46-46. The Eagles briefly took a 47-46 lead, but Davison's inside bucket reclaimed the advantage. Taryn Ottemann hit crucial free throws down the stretch, and Gossling added a mid-range jumper. Despite Central Methodist's late free throws, Grand View held a slim 52-50 lead heading into the final period.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Vikings' composure under pressure. Ottemann opened with a layup assisted by Gossling, and after Central Methodist scored, Ottemann drained a three-pointer assisted by Jones to push the lead to 59-52. Gossling hit two free throws to make it 61-52, forcing an Eagles timeout. Central Methodist rallied with strong inside play, cutting the deficit to 65-56, but Gossling answered with two more free throws. Davison took over down the stretch, scoring back-to-back layups and hitting free throws to extend Grand View's lead to 71-57 with four minutes remaining. The Eagles refused to quit, hitting a three-pointer and converting multiple free throws and layups to cut it to 73-67 with just over a minute left. After a technical foul on Gossling, Central Methodist had two more free throws; the lead shrunk to 73-67. The final minute saw several turnovers from both teams, and the Eagles' late three-pointer made it 75-71 with nine seconds left. Solseth calmly hit one of two free throws with five seconds remaining, and after Central Methodist's final three-pointer, Ottemann secured the rebound to seal the 76-71 victory.
GAME NOTES:
- Anna Gossling led the Vikings with 26 points on 7-13 shooting, including 3-7 from three-point range.
- Amaya Davison added 16 points with 2 rebounds and 2 steals.
- Abigail Jones contributed 11 points with 8 rebounds and 3 blocks in 12 minutes of play.
- Taryn Ottemann chipped in 13 points on 4-8 shooting with 6 rebounds.
- Grand View shot 85.0% from the free-throw line (17-20) in the clutch road victory.
WHAT'S NEXT? Grand View improves to 20-7 overall and 17-2 in conference play, maintaining their position near the top of the standings with a hard-earned road victory. The Vikings will close out the regular season at Graceland on Wednesday, February 18th as they look to solidify their playoff positioning heading into the postseason.
