Lady Vikes End 2024 on a High Note with Home Victory Over Skagit Valley

The Big Bend Lady Vikings basketball team closed out 2024 in style, securing an impressive 67-57 victory over Skagit Valley at home on December 30th. With a strong focus on maintaining their winning momentum, BBCC delivered a solid all-around performance against a formidable opponent.

The game was tightly contested in the first half, with the teams heading into the break tied at 32. However, the Lady Vikes found their stride in the third quarter, outscoring Skagit Valley by 12 points to take control of the game. This surge proved to be the difference-maker, as BBCC held off their opponents in the final quarter to secure the win.

Oakley Homer was a standout performer for the Lady Vikes, coming off the bench to lead the team in scoring with 16 points on an efficient 6-of-8 shooting, including four three-pointers. Riley Layton also had a strong outing, contributing 12 points and nine rebounds to the victory.

Head Coach Preston Wilks reflected on the importance of the win, saying:
*"This game was important to the team as we wanted to come out and play great basketball on our home court, similar to how we opened the season with a great win here against Green River. We really want to create a home-court advantage, and a key aspect of doing that is our mindset, which must be that we love our floor, we love our rims, and we love the extra energy we get from playing in front of our home fans.

It was gratifying to see us do exactly what we set our minds to do. We played with good energy from the tip. Our 3rd quarter was the best quarter of the night as we shot well and held a really good Skagit team to 11 points.

We had great play from our players coming off the bench, which is so critical for a great all-around game. Both Oakley Homer and Ali Okelberry really gave us a boost tonight. Skagit was ranked #10 in the current poll, one slot behind us, and they had just beaten Spokane at Spokane the prior game, so we feel like this was one of our better wins of the first half of the season. The quality of the opponent and the high level of play made this game feel like an East Region game, so we were very pleased to see that we played a really solid game tonight."*

With this victory, the Lady Vikes head into the new year on a high note, ready to tackle the second half of the season with confidence and momentum.