The Lady Vikings reigned supreme Thursday night, beating the Lady Crusaders 44-38 in the packed stadium of Orcas High School.
The first quarter saw the Lady Vikings burning up and down the court, thwarting their opponents and scoring first to set the tone for the night. The opposition repeatedly missed chip shots, lay ups, and outside shots, struggling to overcome the swarm of the Orcas defense. Maddy Smith scored six in the first half, Stephanie Shaw scored five, and Lanie Padbury scored four. Lanie Padbury was very effective moving the ball as point guard down the court, and the Lady Vikings dominated in their own offensive territory. They missed many easy shots but their tenacity was superb and they recovered rebound after rebound until they were able to put it through the hoop.
At the half, the Lady Vikings led, 19-9. Halley Parnell came out at the third quarter and just rebounded to save her life but could not quite get it in. Shaw was all over the court and stopped short, faking out a defensive player, eyed the basket and nailed it for two. Fouls were less abundant than usual and Shaw was on fire; she snatched it out of an offensive player’s hands and sunk the sucker. Lanie Padbury had several assists, and the Orcas offense worked like a well-oiled machine, driving for points. Even the free throwing was on. Anika Thomas stole the ball and topped it in, and the Lady Vikings kept up the pressure while the Lady Corsairs tried to keep their cool, down by 28-18 almost at the end of the third quarter.
At the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Lady Crusaders switched up their starting players; one of their key scorers came in and rejuvenated the Crusaders with some nice shooting, one a three pointer. The Lady Crusaders were threatening. Then Shaw grabbed the ball, powered it down the court and took a nice shot right outside the key to score for Orcas. Now the score was 32-29, Orcas still in the lead but not much. Laney Padbury snagged it in her own key and in a graceful swoop laid it up for the Lady Vikings. Now the score was 34-31, Orcas in the lead. Shaw worked it around the key, helped by Thomas and Parnell and popped it in, and then scored another free throw after a personal foul.
The last three minutes of the game were unbearable. First one Orcas player broke away, then the other team was fouled. Then fouled again. The clock stopped. A time out was called. Another foul was called. Soon the score was 38-40. but then! The Lady Vikings broke free and powered down the court to score! With only 42 seconds left to play, the Lady Vikings managed to hang onto the ball and Shaw scored again. Orcas clinched their first of two playoff games, 44-38. They will play their next playoff game and must win this second game to advance to state playoffs. The game, team and time are not determined yet.
