Box Score

DES MOINES, IOWA - On a special senior day at home, the Grand View women's basketball team delivered a commanding performance, defeating William Woods 72-37 in a celebration that honored the program's graduating players.

The Vikings started strong, with Claire Galbraith scoring an early layup to tie the game. After William Woods briefly took the lead, Ellie Knock answered with a layup to pull Grand View within one. The offense found its rhythm as Amaya Davison scored in the paint, and Anna Gossling added a layup to give the Vikings an 8-7 edge. Lily Smith converted a layup assisted by Taryn Ottemann, and Galbraith followed with a jumper assisted by Davison to push the lead to 12-9. Ottemann caught fire from beyond the arc, drilling back-to-back three-pointers, the first assisted by Davison and the second by Gossling extending Grand View's advantage to 18-12 as the first quarter came to a close.

The Vikings continued to build momentum in the second quarter, with their defense stifling the Wildcats' offense. Gossling connected on a three-pointer assisted by Galbraith to make it 21-15, and followed with a layup in the paint to push the lead to 23-17. Her hot hand continued as she drained another three-pointer assisted by Abigail Jones to extend the advantage to 26-17. Jones capped a strong quarter with a layup assisted by Davison, and Davison scored in the paint assisted by Gossling as Grand View carried a commanding 30-17 halftime lead.

Grand View came out of the break with renewed energy, turning the game into a celebration befitting senior day. Smith made a free throw to start the scoring, and Galbraith added a fastbreak layup off a steal to push the lead to 33-20. Smith converted a three-point play, and Galbraith scored another fastbreak layup assisted by Smith to make it 38-20. Davison scored consecutive layups in the paint, the second assisted by Smith, to extend the advantage to 42-24. Gossling added a layup assisted by Smith, and Galbraith hit a three-pointer assisted by Gossling to cap a dominant stretch. Davison scored again assisted by Smith, and Galbraith finished the quarter with a fastbreak layup at the buzzer, giving the Vikings a commanding 51-24 lead heading into the final period.

The fourth quarter became a fitting tribute to the Vikings' seniors, with the entire roster getting involved in the celebration. Ottemann scored back-to-back layups early in the quarter, and Galbraith added a layup in the paint to push the lead to 58-28. Jones connected on a three-pointer assisted by Hannah Hartley, and Davison made a free throw as Grand View extended their advantage. Knock scored a layup assisted by Ottemann, and Jones added another layup assisted by Addalyn Rooney. Davison converted two free throws, and Eva Solseth capped the scoring with a layup in the paint, giving the Vikings their largest lead of 35 points as they cruised to a 72-37 victory on their special day.
 

SENIOR RECOGNITIONS:

AMAYA DAVISON
Amaya was accompanied by her mom Lainey, her dad Dom, and her siblings Jayden, Alaysia, Livy, and Jaymo.
She is from Des Moines, Iowa and studied Public Health at Grand View. Her favorite memory is joining the new team and feeling like she belongs.
One piece of advice she would give her younger teammates is to enjoy it while you can and don't focus too much on the results, but the work you put in to get those results. 
Future plans are to get her master's and attend accelerated Nursing school.

ANNA GOSSLING
Anna was accompanied by her mother Jayna and her father Brian. 
Anna is from Johnston, Iowa and studied Psychology and English at Grand View. Her favorite memory is winning the conference tournament her sophomore year. 
One piece of advice she would give the team is the pain of losing hurts more than the pain of preparation. 
Anna's future plans are to  BE AWESOME... maybe as a speech-language pathologist. 

HANNAH HARTLEY
Hannah was accompanied by her mom Shannon, and her grandparents Rich and Pat Hartley.
Hannah is from Reno Nevada and studied a Master's in Organizational Leadership at Grand View. Her favorite memory is beating MNU at home this season. 
One piece of advice for the young teammates would be to enjoy each opportunity because it goes fast. 
Hannah's future plans are to pursue a career in environmental conservation and coach high school basketball. 

ABIGAIL JONES
Abigail was accompanied by her mom and dad. 
She is from Waukee, Iowa and studied Accounting and finance at Grand View.
Her favorite athletic memory is going to nationals last year. 
A piece of advice she would leave the team is work hard and play hard!
Abigail's future plans are to work at the state auditor's office after graduation.

TARA NAVEEN
Tara was accompanied by her friends.
She is from Edison, New Jersey and studied sport management at Grand View. 
Her favorite athletic memory is winning a national championship in England. 
One piece of advice she would leave the team is to be able to value yourself, past your sport, and fully appreciate your self worth as well as excel at your sport.
Tara's future plans are to continue making an impact on people and travel the world through the sport of basketball. 
 

GAME NOTES:

• Claire Galbraith led the Vikings with 17 points on 8-11 shooting, adding 5 rebounds and 5 steals.
• Amaya Davison contributed 13 points with 4 assists and 3 steals.
• Anna Gossling added 12 points with 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
• Taryn Ottemann chipped in 10 points and 6 rebounds off the bench, while Lily Smith had 7 points and 5 rebounds.
• Grand View shot an impressive 50.0% from the field and dominated in the paint 46-16.
• The Vikings converted 24 points off turnovers while holding William Woods to just 25.0% shooting from the field.
• Viking seniors combined for 42 points on the night.

WHAT'S NEXT?

Grand View improves to 18-7 overall and 15-2 in conference play. The Vikings look to continue their strong team play on Wednesday, February 11th at home against Park University.