The wrong direction for Big Bend
MOSES LAKE - After posting two straight wins on the road over the weekend, the Big Bend Lady Vikings took a step backwards.
Even though Big Bend held Walla Walla to 31 percent shooting in the first half, the Lady Warriors were able to pull out a 64-40 win at the DeVries Center Wednesday night.
"I thought we were starting to turn corner," said Craig Randall, Big Bend head coach.
The Lady Vikings committed 18 turnovers in the first half, more than they committed in either game against Treasure Valley and Blue Mountain last weekend. Walla Walla took advantage and scored 15 points off the first half Big Bend mistakes and 27 points off turnovers in the game.
"That is the final score," Randall added. "It is a 22-point swing in a 24-point differential."
The other factor for the Lady Vikings was missed shots. In the first half, Big Bend shot 26.1 percent from the floor and finished the game, slightly above at 32.7 percent.
Walla Walla wasn't much better, only shooting 31 percent in the first half, thanks in part to a strong Big Bend defense. The Lady Vikings were able to limit the Lady Warriors to two points on second chance opportunities.
"I thought our defense did a pretty good job, we just needed to take better care of the ball," Randall said.
Courtney Gates had an opportunity to put Big Bend on the board first after getting fouled on a drive to the basket, but missed both free throws. Walla Walla recovered and scored the next seven points of the game and held the Lady Vikings to five points in the first 10 minutes of play.
Aundrea Morrison, who led Walla Walla in scoring with 24 points, left the game early in the first half with two quick fouls. Her replacement, Mandy Troutt, came in and filled the spot, putting up four straight points for the Walla Walla before leaving the game.
Randall called a timeout with 9:19 remaining in the first half and Morrison came followed with four points to build the Lady Warriors' lead to 16-5 with 7:18 remaining before halftime.
Kari Darnell began to spark some offensive life for the Lady Vikings late in the first half, keeping Big Bend on pace with Walla Walla with four of her eight points in the closing minutes of the first half.
Mara McPartland, who finished with six points in the game, hit a 3-pointer just before halftime to cut Walla Walla's lead to 27-15.
Walla Walla unleashed the 3-ball to start the second half with Liz Swanby, Jenni Miller and Ashley Wolfe all connecting behind the arc to start the second half and give the Lady Warriors a 42-19 lead with 14:12 left in the game.
Big Bend went on a 6-0 run with 11:19 left in the second to cut Walla Walla's lead to under 20 points, but the Lady Warriors never let up.
Morrison put the Lady Vikings away with six points at the end of the half to seal up the 64 40 win over Big Bend.
"They are so young still that when they don't get something good right away, they start to force," Randall said. "But I thought they were getting good looks, they just weren't going in."