Wilks eyes opportunities with fresh-faced Vikings

MOSES LAKE — Big Bend Community College Lady Vikings head women's basketball coach Preston Wilks is set to begin his 17th season on the women's basketball sidelines. As he does though, he will be directing a completely new-look team. 

"We have a whole new team, with ten freshmen," stated Wilks in a recent conversation. 

However, those ten new faces bring a familiarity with regional basketball both statewide and in the Columbia Basin.

"We have five players from Washington, a high from years of most recent memory," Wilks said. "We also will feature three local players on our roster ... one from Quincy (Freshman Ruth Flores) and two from Moses Lake Christian Academy (Freshmen Makiya and Kali Kast). Each day the girls are working diligently to learn the system and are focused on improving each week."

The 2022-2023 Lady Vikings basketball squad showed some stellar moments throughout the season, only to falter down the stretch. 

"We finished with a 15-13 record overall and a 9-7 record in region play, one game from making the playoffs," quoted Wilks. "It was a tough finish, as we were the only team in the entire Northwest Athletic Conference with a winning region record that did not qualify for the NWAC Tournament."

This disappointing finish has Wilks motivated more than ever to get this year's group back to their winning ways, as Wilks' teams have won two East Region titles over the last five seasons. During a similar time span, they have appeared in two NWAC Final Fours, duplicated only once by one other team in the East Region in Walla Walla Community College. 

Wilks added, "We are looking to continue the same product as in seasons past, but this season we look to defend better against the three and, overall, be a better rebounding club. We have been one of the top rebounding teams in the NWAC in recent years and we want to return to form, with the end goal of peaking at season's end and making a run in the NWAC tournament."

Despite some early positives, Wilks understands the challenges of a new, young team. 

"Since we are a very young team, with no returning players, we are working hard to help the players embrace a season-long vision, with being intent on ... peaking once we get into East Region play in January and February," Wilks noted. "This year's team is off to a great start from a culture/chemistry point-of-view. They are on the same page so far and are being positive with each other. They play hard and are coachable and eager to learn. We have placed more focus this season on keeping in front of us our vision and guiding principles. The players are striving to live by the values and expectations we hold as critical to our season."

Sitting only 16 wins away from 250 career wins as a head coach, Wilks understands the rigors of the NWAC's East Region, as Columbia Basin College, ranked second in the 2023-2024 NWAC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll, returns four starters from a squad that made an NWAC Tournament Final Four appearance 2022-2023. Additionally, rival Walla Walla Community College returns three starters from last season and was ranked fourth in the Preseason Poll. 

"We received the third most votes from among East Region teams in the Preseason Poll," Wilks concluded. 

Based on his track record and the competitiveness of his teams, the 2023-2024 Lady Vikings hope to end the season much higher than where they began.