MOSES LAKE — The Big Bend Community College Vikings finished the last week of competition 2-1 after facing the Clackamas Cougars, the Linn-Benton Road Runners and the Mt Hood Saints on the road. Now sitting at 11-1 on the season, the Vikings prepare to face regional competition following winter break. 

“This is a really talented and cohesive team this year at this point in the season and we’re super happy with their effort and their enthusiasm,” said Vikings Head Coach Preston Wilks. “They have done everything we’ve asked, and we couldn’t be more happy with this group of ladies that we are right now.” 

The Vikings' first matchup of the week was against the No. 1-ranked team in the Northwest Athletic Conference, Clackamas. Both teams entered the game undefeated on the season and ready to prove their strength. 

During the first quarter, BBCC would come out strong and gain a four-point lead over Clackamas by the end of the quarter. Clackamas would go on a run in the second quarter, which would put the Vikings behind 21-30 by the end of the first half. 

Coming into the third quarter, the Vikings would bounce back to outscore their opponent and tie the game up, but by the end of the quarter, the Cougars would take the lead by six. Clackamas would once again outscore BBCC and the Vikings would take their first loss of the season 50-66. 

While the Vikings were disappointed by the loss, Wilks said the team still had a great showing against a tough team and that was enough to get them ready for the next two matchups. 

“What it did is it just sharpened our focus and the players said, ‘We’ve got to really make sure that we execute better now,’” said the coach. “The little sting of that loss, wanting to beat the number one team ... it really pushed us to keep playing hard.” 

The Vikings got back to it the next day as they travelled to play against Linn-Benton. At the start of this game, the Vikings would come out just over the Road Runners to gain a two-point lead in the first quarter.  

BBCC would prove dominant in the second quarter, where they would outscore their opponent by ten points and end the half 35-23. Linn-Benton would outscore the Vikings in the third and fourth quarters, but the score would remain in favor of Big Bend and the game would end 64-57. 

With the Vikings at 1-1 for the week, they would head into their final matchup against Mt Hood. Big Bend would claim the lead in the first quarter by three points and then extend that lead into the second quarter to go into halftime 37-22. 

The second half would be dominant for the Vikings as they would hold the Saints to only eight points total while scoring 19 in the third and 16 in the fourth. With this the Vikings would conclude the week with a 72-30 victory and an 11-1 overall record. 

Wilks said the amazing defensive front from the Vikings during the last two games of the stretch was something the team can be proud of moving forward. In the victory over Mt Hood, the Vikings held the opposition to their lowest output all season of 30 points.  

“We were pretty happy about that and we had 31 offensive rebounds and 69 total boards,” he said. “The girls were just going super hard at the glass and getting rebounds we had multiple girls in the double digits for rebounds. It was a really nice effort by them.” 

Despite the successes, the coach said he also noticed some hiccups on offense from the Vikings that occurred during their three-game span. Entering the week they were one of the most efficient teams on offense with a high field goal percentage, but during these games, Wilks said the team didn’t hit over 40%. 

These games also taught the Vikings a lesson in keeping their head up when things get tough and focus on making the next play happen regardless, he said.  

Big Bend will be on winter break for a week and will return to practice Tuesday where the basketball team will start preparing for the start of regional play. With some practice and a tournament between now and the start of regionals, Wilks said he hopes it will help get the team ready to compete in the next part of the season. 

“We played 15 non-region games and none of those really mean anything with regards to end of season opportunities. You have to do that during region play,” he said. “You’ve got to make your name and show your strengths in region and that’s what we’ve been looking forward to.” 

The Vikings will be heading to the Skagit Valley Classic Tournament and will play Skagit Valley on Jan. 2 against at 7:30 p.m., Northwest Indian on Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. and Everett on Jan. 4 at noon. Following this the Vikings will play their first game of regional play at Wenatchee Valley on Jan. 7. 

Editor's Note: Special thank you to Savannah Signorelli Photography for assisting us with coverage of Big Bend athletics. 

BOX SCORE:  

GAME ONE: 

BBCC: 15-6-19-10: 50
CLKM: 11-19-16-20: 66 

GAME TWO:  

BBCC: 14-21-19-10: 64
LNBT: 12-11-22-12: 57 

GAME THREE:  

BBCC: 14-23-19-16: 72
MTHD:  11-11-4-4: 30 

    Oaklie Jackman from BBCC shoots for three during a previous home game this season.
  

    Big Bend’s Mallory Henrie rushes past a defender during a home game earlier this season.
  

    BBCC freshman Brooke Warren runs down the court after gaining possession of the ball during a previous home game.