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LA CROSSE — They were discouraged, and Duane Vike knew it.
Vike, the Holmen High School girls basketball team’s coach, had hoped things would go much better than they did. He hoped the Vikings would come away with a win Saturday over West Salem at the inaugural MVC girls basketball showcase at Viterbo University’s Beggs Gymnasium.
However, Holmen’s 33-18 loss to the Coulee Conference-leading Panthers was a tough one for both Vike and his players to take. Holmen shot 18 percent (8-for-45) from the floor and saw its four-game winning streak come to an end.
Vike knew Holmen (5-6) faced a challenging week with games against Eau Claire North on Tuesday — a game the Vikings lost 53-38 to the 9-2 Huskies, and MVC leader Logan tonight. He knew the Vikings would need all the momentum they could get.
Their offensive woes prevented that from happening.
“We played very well against Central (a 38-28 Holmen victory on Jan. 8), but we shot very poorly today,” Vike said. “When you shoot as poorly as we did, it makes it look like you played worse than the (final) score indicates.
“I’m not unhappy with the way we played. We just couldn’t put the ball in the basket.”
Holmen’s starters combined to go 7-for-30 from the floor in the loss. Junior guard Alex Brown led the Vikings with six points.
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