Girls basketball

by Chela Scheckel-Mohler

Orcas School Student

Over the last few weeks, the Lady Vikings’ basketball team has been working hard on our plays, passing and shooting.

We practiced over our winter break and had a large amount of the team show despite our time off from school. Practices have been high energy and full of encouragement from both teammates and coaches.

On Jan. 4, the basketball teams traveled to Darrington for games. There was no lack of high intensity. Though the Loggers were tough, the Lady Vikings were tougher bringing home both a varsity and junior varsity win.

We have worked so hard and we don’t intend to stop anytime soon. We as a team plan to continue to work hard in practice and on the court in games. There are more wins to come.

In the game against La Conner, the girls looked to prove they should be in the conversation of being a top team in the league. Facing a perennial powerhouse is never an easy task and La Conner proved they are still the team to beat in league.

However, the Vikings showed great resolve coming back from double-digit deficits multiple times and at the end of the game, there were a few plays where the game could have gone either way. It was the Braves that capitalized off of costly turnovers by the Vikings that led to three consecutive 3-pointers, which proved to be more than the Vikings could recover from. The Vikings showed that when they’re playing well they can compete with the top teams.

Boys basketball

by Max Clark-Mattila

Orcas School Student

Over the break, the boys’ varsity fell to a much-improved Darrington Loggers team on the road.

The first game back from break the Vikings hosted the La Conner Braves. The boys played a hard fought game but in the end, were defeated by the Braves.

I believe that right now is going to be a huge turning point for us. Although our record says differently, I know we are a better team than people take us for. There are a lot more games to be played, and we are going to be a problem for teams the rest of the season.

It’s the culture within our team that’s different and that’s going to prove a lot of people wrong. I’ve never been on a team that is more connected than we are. We’re a unit that’s coming to play with a chip on our shoulders and a team that’s going give everything we have.

Upcoming games

Both teams will be hosting Friday Harbor on Friday, Jan. 18. Boys varsity is at 5 p.m. and the girls’ varsity will play at 6:30 p.m.