Lady Vikings rebound with big home win

MOSES LAKE — Coming off a disappointing loss Wednesday at Yakima Valley Community College it was time for the Big Bend Lady Vikings to dig deep to find that extra spark.

On Saturday they dug deep enough to bury visiting Wenatchee Valley Community College 84-57 to move into a tie for third in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) East Division.

Big Bend (9-6, 2-1) relied on an old faithful method of winning games — scoring, scoring, and, well, scoring.

“After that Yakima game during the week we just sat down as a team and talked about going from great shooters in practice to great shooters in both halves of games,” Big Bend coach Preston Wilks said. “We talked about making that adjustment and we did that. We shot well in both halves. We had another great defensive game but our offense showed up too and that was nice to see.”

Yakima (11-4, 3-0) beat the Lady Vikings 81-63.

Defensively Big Bend also took care of business, holding Wenatchee (4-10, 0-3) to 32 percent shooting in the first half en route to a 39-22 lead after the game’s first 20 minutes. For the game the visitors shot 38 percent from the field.

On the flip side, Big Bend shot 42 percent in the first half and a staggering 57 percent in the second half for a game total of 48 percent.

Dana Bates led Big Bend with 26 points and 11 rebounds while Moses Lake High School graduate, Chayla Hirz chipped in with 14 points and eight rebounds while playing only 22 minutes.

Lacey Nordby and Alia Parker gave the Lady Vikings four double-figure scorers, with each registering 10 points.

“Four is amazing if we can do that every game,” Wilks said. “We like to have someone in double figures supporting the games Dana’s having since she is scoring in double figures in all her games. It’s nice when people can step up.”

Big Bend’s bench outscored Wenatchee’s 39-22.