A strong fourth quarter by No. 24 Grayson helped them overcome a double digit deficit and defeat sixth ranked McLennan 62-54 on Wednesday, Jan. 21.
The Vikings got off to a good start early on, Susan Fahnbulleh scored the first five for Grayson to help them build a 5-2 lead. After another defensive stop, Iv Jackson was good on a contested layup and a 7-2 lead. An 11-5 run from McLennan gave them the lead at 13-12 with 3:45 left in the opening quarter. The Vikings kept it close, trailing by just three; 17-14  at the end of the opening quarter.
A 13-2 run by the Highlassies of McLennan highlighted the second quarter to put the Vikings in an early 15 point hole, trailing 30-16  their largest deficit of the game with 5:23 left in the first half. Fahnbulleh continued her hot start to the game, scoring the next five to cut the deficit to 30-21. McLennan scored the next four points and Fia Filoialii drove in for a layup as the Vikings faced a 34-23 halftime deficit.
The Vikings fought back in the third quarter, cutting it to single digits a few different times, but McLennan had an answer each time, pushing the Viking deficit back out to double digits. Grayson continued battling with Lily Melton connecting on a three with three seconds left to bring Grayson within eight heading into the fourth quarter.
The offense exploded out of the gate in the fourth quarter, going on an 11-3 run capped off by four straight points from Jaycee Ingram to pull within one point. Filoialii hit the go-ahead three pointer to give the Vikings their first lead since the first quarter at 52-50 with 4:51 to play. After a timeout and a defensive stop, Filoialli scored again to push the lead to four. After the Highlassies answered with a basket, Melton hit another big three pointer for a five point lead. Mclennan cut it to three with a minute to play, but as they've done many times this year, Grayson closed out the game by making their free throws. Melton, Tay Biglow and Madison Martin each made free throws as the Vikings pulled the upset, outscoring McLennan 24-8 in the final frame for a huge victory.
Fahnbulleh led the way in scoring with 19 points, while Filoialli added 12. Jackson was the leading rebounder with eight, while Biglow dished out six assists. Martin added five steals in the win.
The Vikings will hit the road (weather permitting) to take on the Lady Coyotes of Weatherford on Saturday, Jan. 24. Tip-off is set for 2pm.