Lady Vikings ready for season

MOSES LAKE — Now its just a matter of putting together two solid halves of a season.

Starting off hot last year, the Big Bend Lady Vikings basketball team broke out to a 10-3 mark against non conference play.

But then came the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) slate and the tables turned.

Third-year Coach Preston Wilks would see his second season with the Lady Vikes end in a repeat 14-13 mark which included a 4-10 league record, good enough for sixth place in the NWAACC East Region.

Is the third time a charm for Wilks? Well the coach has four starters back that he hopes could change the trend of back-to-back one game over .500 campaigns.

Dana Bates of Warden High School returns following a campaign where she averaged 11 points and seven rebounds a game and she is joined by Sarah Smith (12 points and six rebounds), Taylor Anderson (nine points and five rebounds), and Alia Parker (three points and just over two assists).

“We are excited about having seven returning players,” Wilks said. “Sarah Smith returns as the team’s MVP and leading scorer from last year and she will be complemented by the return of Dana who did not play last year with a torn ACL, but is looking to make up for lost time with an outstanding sophomore campaign.”

Kendra Schwulst, who averaged six points a game as a freshman in 2008-09 also returns along with Lacey Nordby (five points per game) and Alex Canfield (five points).

All three are being looked at by Wilks as potential key contributors as sophomores.

The Class of 2011 recruiting coup includes Moses Lake High School’s Chayla Hirz, Ephrata’s Jamie Bohnet, Ashley McGowan, Ali Whitted, and Aspen Hengst.

The entire 12-player roster will be counted on to execute Wilks’ four-out motion offense that will incorporate some baseline to baseline tempo attacks.

“Our transition offense is an early strong point,” Wilks said. “It looks like we’ll be able to get out and run if we can rebound well. We also should be able to shoot well again from beyond the arc.”

Last year the Lady Vikings led the entire NWAACC in made 3-pointers.

The defense will come at opponents awash in blue-and-green hoping to get after it with man-to-man, half-court match up zone, and some full-court zone defenses.

Still despite the optimism for a season on the horizon some of the issues that led to Big Bend’s late season demise are still concerns for Wilks and crew.

“Our defensive rebounding needs to improve,” he said. “We also have to minimize our turnovers.”

 His hopes are that with a roster consisting of more than half returning veterans that those Achilles heels may not be as glaring when they open play Saturday when the host their Alumni game at 6 p.m.

“The Alumni have assembled another tough squad with a great mix of past and more recent talent,” Wilks said. “We will have to take care of the ball and rebound well defensively.  I anticipate that we should do well in the transition game and we will be looking to shoot the three if we can spread the floor and get some guards attacking the hoop.”

Last year Big Bend built a 20-point lead only to see it disappear behind the relentless drive and experience of the Alumni team before the hosts held on for an eight-point win.

It is Wilks’ hope that the Alumni game could be a nice launching point for a season that holds high aspirations for the Lady Vikings.

“We have to do the little things right and more often than our opponents,” Wilks said. “Our goal is to win the NWAACC East Region and to go to the NWAACC tourney at the end of the season.”