Girls Basketball: Lady Vikings play rough and tumble game against Friday Harbor Wolverines

The Orcas high school gym was rockin' when the Orcas Vikings and their old nemesis, the Friday Harbor Wolverines, engaged in a fierce tussle Tuesday night, Jan. 2. The stands reverberated with stomping, cheering, clapping and booing fans and cheerleaders as the on-court battle raged fast and hard.

“It sure was a lot of fun. That gym was really loud. It was just a real rough and tumble game; we knew it would be real physical,” said head coach Terry Moran-Hodge.

In one particularly spectacular bit of half-court line thievery, Stefanie Shaw flicked the ball from her opponent's grip and dribbled it right between the Wolverine's legs for a quick drive to the basket. Lanie Padbury led the scoring with 18 points and nabbed 10 rebounds. Shaw sunk 15 points and made 6 steals. Alison O'Toole scored 6 points and Makenna Thomas scored 4.

The Wolverines played tough and deliberate defense.

“They were trying to isolate our two top scorers by putting special defense on them,” explained Moran-Hodge. As for the Vikes, “We use zone almost exclusively and pressed almost the whole game. [The Viking girls] ran it all the way to the bitter end. They never quit... we got behind and we battled back,” he said. The Woverines eventually prevailed, with a final score of 43 to 54.

"It was a tough loss," said Padbury.

If the Viking girls win the next two games, they will get to kick off the play-offs on their own turf.

“The districts are going to be tough enough that we don't want to give up the home court advantage,” said Moran-Hodge. Having already clinched a hard-earned spot at district playoffs, the girls have a chance enter as the top seed because Friday Harbor goes to another district at that point.

“They're up for the challenge; they know what it takes to get to the next level. I am fully confident that those girls will use those losses as a springboard,” added Moran-Hodge.

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