Vikings women defend home court against Wenatchee Valley
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 months, 2 weeks AGO
Oaklie Jackman from the Vikings shoots a free throw during Wednesday’s game against Wenatchee Valley. Jackman went 15-16 on free throws and had a total of 22 points.
CALEB PEREZ/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD
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.
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.ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ
Erickson looks back on a busy and successful four-sport high school career
WARDEN — A four-sport athlete is not someone you often come across due to the time and dedication it takes for success in one sport, but for Amaya Erickson, tackling that challenge was something she was up for in her senior season. “My family’s always been really big into sports,” said Erickson. “Both my parents have played and my siblings both play, so I guess they’re all a really great inspiration for me.”
Tigers start summer 3-1 after split with Sunnyside Christian
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tiger Baseball Club (3-1) finished their second matchup of the season as they split a doubleheader with Sunnyside Christian Tuesday evening. “I was pleased with a lot of aspects of the doubleheader,” said Tigers Head Coach David Tempel. “The summertime is all about development and getting some experience. The good part about (Tuesday) is we were in some different situations that we haven’t seen much, so we were able to learn from those and use those to our advantage.” Sunnyside was the first on the board during game one as they put up two runs in the top of the second inning. The Tigers responded at the bottom of the third as they put up five runs to claim the lead.
Fletcher named new Eagles volleyball head coach
SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles volleyball team will be under new leadership this fall as Erin Fletcher has been selected as the new head coach. She is following the successful tenure of the previous head coach, Nikki Noble, who helped guide the team to multiple state appearances over the years. “I’m so excited,” said Fletcher. “I’ve had the opportunity to watch these girls play the last couple years as a (referee). I’m really excited to be able to step in after Coach Noble and continue on that winning and competitive spirit that they’ve had for so long and kind of take it now to the next level.” Her love for athletics came from growing up in an athletic family of basketball players, but in second grade, she became the first in her family to start playing volleyball. From there, a passion for volleyball began to grow.