Big Bend women miss NWAACC tournament
BBCC Vikings Basketball
MOSES LAKE - With only eight active players on the roster for a majority of the year the attrition of a long season was bound to catch up.
Big Bend women's basketball (6-8, 16-12) lost its final four games and narrowly missed a berth in the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (NWAACC) tournament.
The Vikings were put into a tough position after losing two sophomore captains, Shanelle Hemmert and McKell Marlor, to torn anterior cruciate ligaments.
Hemmert was unable to take the floor during her sophomore season and Marlor only played six games before injuring her knee Dec. 8 against Skagit Valley.
"I think that's kind of what everybody's pointing at," head coach Preston Wilks said. "I think that a lot of people saw that and just the energy level of our team ... I do think it kind of waned and was not where it should've been."
Despite losing two players who figured to be key contributors, the Vikings were able to stay in the playoff race until the final game of the season due to the leadership of sophomores Jessica Sorensen and Cristina Marlatt and the improved play of freshmen Riley Jemmett, Aubrie Vale and Elizabeth Larrew.
With one game remaining, Big Bend had a chance to punch its ticket with a win against Spokane at home.
However, the Bigfoot were able to pull away in the second half and deny the playoff hopes of the Vikings with a 72-59 win.
Spokane's Riley Holsinger scored a game-high 22 points.
"After the game we got to the locker room and of course everybody was disappointed of course because we left one goal undone and that was we wanted to make sure that we got to the tournament," Wilks said. "We worked everything we could to get there, but it didn't happen."
In Sorensen's last game for the Vikings she led the team with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Marlatt scored six points and dished three assists.
"(Cristina) wanted this game so bad," Wilks said. "Those two were crying as hard as anybody in the locker room afterwards ... They both said to the girls, 'I'm not crying because we didn't do our last goal.' They both shared with the girls they're crying because of what a great year it was, of what they overcame together with just eight kids and how they overcame the loss of Shanelle and McKell and they said what hurts us the most is that it's over."
Big Bend will be poised next season to end a playoff drought that has reached 11 seasons.
The team will return six players, including Jemmett and Vale who both averaged double digit points.
"I met with them today and I said, 'Never have I been as excited as on the Monday after the season ended than I am on this Monday.'"
Runnin' Vikes lock up No. 2 seed
The Big Bend Runnin' Vikes (10-4, 21-7) appear to be peaking at the right time.
The team has won six straight games and recently secured the No. 2 seed out of the East region entering the NWAACC tournament.
Big Bend's latest win came in the season finale against Spokane. The sophomore trio of Brendan Westendorf, Victor Aguero and Kevin Walker scored 55 points, leading the team to a crucial 81-76 win.
Freshman Sean McDonnell added 11 points and seven rebounds.
Big Bend will play Bellevue (11-3, 17-10) in the first round of the NWAACC tournament 10 p.m. March 1 at the Toyota Center in Kennewick.
The Runnin' Vikes defeated Bellevue 78-68 Dec. 15 behind 40 points from Westendorf.
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