by Jefferson Freeman

Orcas High School student

This past Saturday was the final game of Orcas Island basketball for the 2021-22 campaign.

The boys’ team made it all the way to the regionals of the state playoffs, qualifying for the tournament as the 16th and final seeded team. This spot would end up meaning that the boys would need to make a three-day trip across the state to Spokane for a matchup with the Wellpinit Redskins.

Wellpinit was ranked 9th after an impressive regular season with all four of their losses coming only against the top two teams in the state. Both teams started off slow, but Wellpinit had a slight edge as they began to draw out a lead. An impressive run in the second quarter brought the Vikings back to within a bucket but they failed to get a footing in the game and Wellpinit again extended the lead. This time it would be for good as the game ended 66-46 in favor of the Redskins.

A very young and injury-riddled Vikings team had completed a big step towards becoming a team in contention for a state title. A team that will be losing only two seniors is very well positioned to run it back in 2023 and this time searching for more playoff success.