The Lady Vikings fell to the Braves’ onslaught on Friday night at home.

“I thought we played really well. It was a hard fought game. But we learned a lot tonight, and we still had fun; that’s what’s important,” forward Lanie Padbury said.

“We knew they were good,” she added. “We kind of have an ongoing rivalry with La Conner and it’s always nice when we beat them. They played well; next time we’ll get ’em.”

The Lady Vikes took La Conner down to win the Tri-District championship last year, so that’s no idle threat. Padbury put 15 points through the hoop, including seven out of her 10 free throw attempts, and Stephanie Shaw scored nine points.

The Lady Vikings were ahead by five points at the start of first quarter. The teams were evenly matched throughout the first half, with a halftime score of 21 to 21.

The second half was very close. The teams traded baskets for a while, but neither could hold a lead. Toward the end, La Conner created a nine point lead (32-41) with less than four minutes of play remaining. Orcas returned the baskets, battling back to within three points. With 30 seconds left, the Vikings made several attempts to tie the game up, but were unable to sink the necessary three-point shot. The Braves took home the victory at 39 to 46.

“We were a little disappointed that we gave up so many points – they scored 16 points in the fourth quarter,” Coach Terry Moran Hodge said. “They had some big girls who were out-rebounding us. We shut down their normal leading scorers, but they had a good bench. The had a lot of points off their bench, their non-starters.”

Both teams played tight defense.

“Usually our press gives people trouble – they didn’t seem to have much trouble with that. They had really good passes,” Moran-Hodge said.

Friday’s game put the Vikings at 4-2 in league, and tied for third place. If they had won they would now be first in their league. Moran-Hodge is hoping they can finish strong in the second half of the season.

“Our goal is to get to the playoffs… that’s within reach, but I know these girls want to win every game. They’re very competitive,” he said.