Vikings women defend home court against Wenatchee Valley

MOSES LAKE — The Big Bend Community College Lady Vikings (20-2) claimed a 54-43 victory at home against the Wenatchee Valley Knights (11-7) Wednesday. The game was a tight match throughout, but the Vikings pulled through with the win. 

“It kind of went the way we thought it would,” said Vikings Head Coach Preston Wilks. “We thought it would be a dog fight, and we just wanted to try to win and stack quarters.” 

The two teams traded the lead multiple times in the first quarter, tying at 15-15 heading into the second. The defensive game continued into the following quarter as the Vikings and Knights had their lowest scoring quarter, but BBCC pulled ahead with free throws from Oaklie Jackman to go 23-21 at the half. 

The Vikings came into the second half with renewed energy as they increased their lead over the Knights by taking advantage of opportunities at the net. By the fourth quarter Big Bend had found their rhythm to outpace Wenatchee Valley and win by 11. 

“Credit to (Wenatchee’s) coach; he’s got them playing hard, but we stacked the second quarter and then the fourth one was our best quarters yet,” said Wilks.  

He said Wednesday’s game went exactly according to plan against a tough opponent like Wenatchee. To coordinate with the girls as the game went on, Wilks kept a positive mindset as he worked with the players to plot counters to the Knights’ playstyle at the start of the fourth quarter. 

“I was trying to instill in the girls that we were going to do it, that it was going to be ours,” said the coach. “I think that helped because they went out there and really did that in the fourth quarter.” 

Jackman led the team offensively scoring 22 points in the win with ten rebounds for a double-double and went 15-16 on free throws. Ashlynn Purcell led the team in rebounding with 11; Claire Cox scored ten points with seven rebounds and Emily Dana scored seven points and had five rebounds.  

The Vikings’ victory came at the free throw line, Wilks said, as the players went 20-24 on free throws making for 83% at the line. Comparatively, the Vikings had just 23% accuracy on shooting but held the Knights to 31%. 

The coach said he was very proud of the confidence shown by the Vikings during Wednesday’s game and how well they stepped up and made those points at the free throw line.  

“We’ve been seeing them pull out some really tough games and play some good teams, and the other teams haven’t been able to make their free throws,” he said. “The lesson learned is you have to make your free throws, and when you do, you’re going to be fine.” 

With the Vikings heading into the final weeks of the regular season, Wilks said it has been a focus at practice to break down mistakes and improvements to be better prepared for the coming competition. The players have all responded well to this approach and have given them confidence moving forward. 

Saturday will be a true test of their strength as they host the Walla Walla Warriors. The two teams are tied for first in the Northwest Athletic Conference East Region. 

Wilks said the two teams have often traded victories in the past on each other’s home courts. A win Saturday would place as the number one seed in the division and set the Vikings up in a good position for the postseason. 

“I tell you what, the girls are super excited,” he said. “They’ve been wanting to play Walla Walla and we get our wish and hopefully we’ll perform well Saturday.” 

The Vikings will host the Warriors at 4 p.m. Saturday. 

BOX SCORE: 

WVCC: 15-6-9-13: 43  
BBCC: 15-8-12-19: 54 

    BBCC’s Claire Cox prepares to shoot a free throw against Wenatchee Valley during Wednesday’s matchup.
  

    Kaliyah Evans from BBCC rushes toward the hoop Wednesday evening against the Knights.