The Lady Vikings are on a roll.

After cracking Concrete (40-33) last week they continued on to defeat the La Conner Braves Feb. 3 in an overtime win, 48-43.

“Those girls went out and battled really hard,” said head coach Mike Lawson. “This week we were hitting our shots early; our confidence grew and we played better defense on the other end.”

The Braves finished the first quarter ahead at 12-10; by halftime Orcas had edged ahead 19-15; and by third quarter La Conner was just a squeak ahead at 28-27. When the final buzzer sounded the teams were neck and neck at a perfect tie; in overtime the Vikings surged ahead to seal the win.

“The girls were very disciplined on defense. It was our best rebounding game of the year,” said Lawson. The team’s shooting percentage was at a high of 43 percent, as well.

“Bella [Nigretto] had a great game,” he said, with 10 two-pointers and five free-throws. “She’s definitely our biggest producer on offense; 25 points is her career high as well. Considering she’s a freshman, that’s phenomenal. Another big positive is Kathryn Tidwell; she had a great shooting game… to watch her hit those shots in the first half I think sparked the entire team.” Tidwell made two three-pointers and two two-pointers for a 10-point contribution.

“Shelbi [Rogers] had a really good game too,” he said. “She was one of our sparks on defense, did a great job on our full-court trap, which led to several turnovers and several baskets for us.” Rogers, who was playing on a twisted ankle, also scored six points.

“Lana Bronn is always a key defender; she has so much energy out there; she’s a very hard-nosed and fundamentally sound defensive player,” he said, adding that Kenna Thomas was also key, with five assists and 10 rebounds. “She’s someone that can find the open man.”

During the past two games the team has switched its approach to a two-post offense, with April Hofmann and Brooke Bruland as post players.

“It’s created a lot more options offensively for us,” said Lawson. Bruland had seven rebounds during the game.

He said a surprise dunk contest (with the help of a stack of gym mats) and a playful kickball session during practice last week seemed to help relax the team after a stressful season.

“We just took one practice to relieve a lot of stress… I think that helped a lot,” he said.

The team is 4-7 in the season, and will play a final game against Mt. Vernon Christian on Tuesday. Depending on how other games fall out this week, the winner of Tuesday’s game will make it to the district tournament.