Men’s basketball
The Vikings continued their winning streak with a win over the Idaho Vandals in Moscow, Idaho. Marlon Ruffin led the team to a win with 19 points, shooting 7-10. Ezekiel Alley stayed consistent with 15 points, two steals and a three-pointer. Khalid Thomas wasn’t far behind with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Michael Carter III shot 11 points, shooting 3-6 and 4-6 on the free throw line. Damion Squire put up nine points, with three steals and a three-pointer. The game was tight with 12 lead changes, but a lot of fastbreaks at the end of the game secured the win 79-68.
The Viks finished out their regular schedule in Cheney, Washington, playing the Eastern Washington Eagles. The Viks couldn’t take out the Eagles and lost 83-75. Thomas led the Viks with 24 points, 11 rebounds and three three-pointers. Ruffin had 15 points, scoring 7-15 with nine rebounds. Mikal Starks had 13 points, two steals and two three-pointers. 11 points came from Alley with three turnovers.
The Viks finished the season with a record of 12-16 and 10-10 in the conference. The record does not define them, though—the Viks had a record of 8-3 in their last 11 games of the regular season. Now, the Park Block Vikings will travel to Boise for the Big Sky Conference tournament. Their first opponent will be Idaho State—which the Viks swept in the regular season, most notably with their overtime win on Feb. 26.
Women’s basketball
The Idaho Vandals were too much for the Viks as they lost 73-68 in a close game at the Pavilion. Esmeralda Morales put up 22 points with three steals and three three-pointers. Savannah Dhaliwal put up 19 points, shooting 9-14. Alaya Fitzgerald put up 10 points, with two three-pointers under her belt. Even with 10 lead changes and six ties, the Viks couldn’t finish.
The last basketball game played at the Pavilion was on Senior Night, when the Viks played their Pacific Northwest rivals: Eastern Washington. The Viks recognised their only senior, Dhaliwal. Morales led the team again with 17 points, three steals and four three-pointers. Jenna Kilty went 2-4 on three-pointers and 10 points. Dhaliwal put up eight points, 2-3 on the line.
University of Idaho is the Viks’ first opponent in the Big Sky Conference tournament in Boise. The Viks finished their season 5-23 and 0-20 in conference.
Softball
The Viks had their season opener last week against Robert Morris University (RMU), and took two wins in the series. A run by RMU in the fourth inning sparked a reaction from the Viks, who scored four runs in the bottom of the inning. Paetynn Lopez gave the team two RBIs after a double and brought Emily Johansen and Olivia Dean home. Mariah Rodriguez, with a single to left field, brought Logan Riggenbach home. A ground out by Shea Garcia brought Lopez home and Rodriguez advanced to second base—for 4-1, Vikings. Johansen reached on a fielder’s choice in the fifth inning, and Maddie Thomspon scored. Dean made it home after a fielder’s choice by Riggenbach—and the Viks led 6-1. A run by RMU in the sixth made it 6-2, but the Viks finished out and won. Olivia Grey got her seventh win of the season, and pitched the whole seven innings, allowing six hits and two runs.
The Viks fell to the Colonials in the second game of the double header 8-1. Five runs came from Robert Morris in the first inning and one run from the Viks. The Viks could not get a run for the rest of the game. The pitcher for RMU, Rachael Rhinehart, pitched the whole game and only allowed four hits and one run.
The Viks shut out the Colonials 4-0 in the final game and finished the series strong. Grey only allowed three hits and no runs—and got her eighth win of the season. She advanced to 8-1. Garcia got an RBI and Johansen ran home. Lopez got a homerun in the third inning to give the Viks a 2-0 lead. Ellie Babbitt scored on a wild pitch in the third inning. Riggenbach singled in the middle, but advanced to second base off a throwing error by the Colonials. Lopez came home and the Viks led 4-0 in the sixth. Grey closed it and the Viks advanced to 11-7 on the season.
Women’s tennis
The Viks on the court traveled to Ogden, Utah to play the Weber State Wildcats. Capu Sanoner and Nika Beukers won their doubles match 6-4. Emily Rees and Makoto Ohara fell 6-2 in their match. Jacinta Milenkoski and Majo Hernandez fell 6-3. In singles, Sanoner fell 6-3, 6-3. Milenkoski fell 6-3, 6-2. Maddie Egan fell 6-2, 6-1. Rees fell 6-4, 6-1. Ohara fell 6-3, 6-3. Beukers won 6-4, 4-6 and finally, 10-7. The Viks lost 6-1 in their conference game against Weber State.
Boise, Idaho was next on the map as they played the Boise State Broncos. Beukers and Sanoner fell 7-5 in doubles. Milenkoski and Ohara won 6-4 in their match. Rees and Hernandez fell 6-3. In singles, Rees fell 6-1, 6-1. Ohara also fell 6-1, 6-1. Beukers fell 3-6, 6-1, 1-6. Egan fell 6-1, 6-0. Milenkoski fell 2-6, 6(10)-7(12). Hernandez won 6-4, 1-6, 1(13)-0(11).
Men’s tennis
The Viks traveled to Sacramento State last week to play the Hornets. Nils Plutat and Oliver Richards fell 6-2 in doubles. Sam De Vries and Tommy Hsu fell 2-6. Otto Holtari and Andrew Vu fell 6-0. In singles, Plutat fell 6-3, 6-3. Richards fell 7-5, 6-1. Holtari fell 6-4, 6-4. Hsu fell 6-1, 7-5. De Vries fell 6-4, 6-1. Vu fell 6-1, 6-1. The Viks lost 7-0 to the Hornets and traveled to UC Davis less than 24 hours later to play the Aggies.
Nils and Richards fell 6-1 in Davis, California. Holtari and Vu fell 6-0. The match with Hsu and De Vries went unfinished. Vu fell in singles 6-0, 6-1. Hsu fell 6-0, 6-4. Holtari fell 6-0, 6-2. Richards fell 6(10)-7(12), 2-6. Nils fell 3-6, 7-5, 8-10. De Vries fell 6-4, 2-6, 8-10 in the last singles’ match.
Portland Thorns FC vs OL Reign preseason
The Thorns played their Pacific Northwest rivals, the OL Reign, in the first of three preseason games played at Providence Park. Before the match, both teams got together to honor the late Katie Meyer, a goalkeeper for Stanford University who passed away at 22 years old. Both teams got a clean sheet to start the preseason, but the Thorns’ goalkeeper, Bella Bixby, had multiple saves despite all the corner kicks. The Thorns could have pulled off a goal in the eighth minute by Hannah Betfort—but called back because of a foul against Portland. Bedford got a yellow card in the 70th minute. The Thorns now prepare for their season.
