22 Point Blow Out Secures Second Straight Win

Coming off of a solid win versus Blue Mountain Community College, the Lady Vikes hoped to get one game closer to the .500 mark as they approach the half way point of conference play. 

The Lady Vikes hit the road and traveled to Wenatchee Valley College on Wednesday January 31st the take on the Knights. With BBCC playing some of their best basketball, Head Coach Preston Wilks has emphasized getting off to quality starts while playing lock down defense. Big Bend continued this trend versus the Knights shooting a solid 43% from the field in the first quarter while forcing 6 turnovers resulting in a 17-16 lead in favor of the Lady Vikes after the first 10 minutes. After a solid start, the shots stopped falling with only 4 of the 15 shots in the second quarter finding the bottom of the net. Fortunately, with the offense struggling, the defense picked up the slack forcing another 6 turnovers and holding the lead going into the break with a score of 30-29. 

With a down second quarter Wilks took a different approach when it came to addressing his team at the break.

"At halftime I did something a little unconventional to find a way to motivate the team. There was a little grade schoolers game going on, and I had the idea to make the ladies leave the locker room and watch the little girls play. I asked them to recall their own memories of when they first played the game, so we could lift our minds and spirits hoping we could smile and go enjoy the 2nd half. We did just that" said Wilks.

After the pep talk, the Lady Vikes began to fire on all cylinders scoring 21 points in the third quarter on 60% shooting and a game high 24 points on 78% shooting in the final quarter while holding the Knights to 24 points in the second half. Between the elite and efficient offense and the stifling defense the Lady Vikes collected their second straight win blowing out Wenatchee Valley with a final score of 75-53. Kali Kast, Riley Layton, Aquinna Riggles, Katie Hansen and Ruth Flores all scored double digit points in the Viking Victory. 

Head Coach Preston Wilks had this to say regarding the Lady Vikes strong finish to the first half of conference play.

"After the game, we also celebrated the fact that after a scary 0-3 start to Region, we were able to finish the 1st half of Region play with 3 wins in our last 4 games. We are looking forward to the 2nd half of Region and seeing what these next 7 games bring."

Big Bend starts the second half of conference play as they host the Columbia Basin Hawks at the Devries Activity Center on Saturday February 3rd at 2:00pm. 

As always, keep up with the Lady Vikings on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, as well as through the NWACSports Network's livestream video platform, where available.