With an eventful last day of North Park Basketball this past Saturday, February 20th, parents and fans were proud to be Vikings! The Viking women not only celebrated the last games of their two seniors’ careers but they also wore pink in their shoes, hair, and also on their arms to support Breast Cancer. We must, therefore, give a huge thanks to the Student Athletic Advisory Committee (SAAC) because they worked hard to do all they could to help the cause. They organized both the women and men’s games in order to raise as much money as possible. Great job guys!

Now back to our seniors! Larisa Coldebella and Juliann Plimpton gave a performance to remember against the favorite in the CCIW, Illinois Wesleyan. Although the women lost the match-up, the two seniors shined for the Vikings. Plimpton made it a career ending game by collecting a career high 13 rebounds and also scoring a career high 8 points! She was aggressive and her heart was evident as she worked hard all over the court. Coldebella slammed down her final 9 points and went a perfect 2 for 2 from the free throw line. Both women made the fans proud while their names were chanted all throughout the game. The women ended their season 5-20 overall and went 2-12 in conference. They are looking to improve even more next season with a solid group of women returning to shine next season.

Now let’s move over for the Viking Men, who had a solid 70-67 win for North Park! Illinois Wesleyan was the powerhouse of the conference and for the majority of this conference season they were holding the first seed, which meant our men needed to bring their A game and, thankfully, the A game was what they brought! Our men kept their heads up and their minds focused although there were some inconsistent calls coming from the officials. The men ended their conference season splitting 500 and going 7-7; overall they ended 13-12, improving their record from last season.

Another focus the Viking men were proud of was senior star, . Williams has made a mark on Viking basketball by being one of only twelve Viking men to score over 1,000 points in their career. Williams scored a final 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in the last game of his career. With only seconds left, Williams blocked a shot and maintained possession of the ball just long enough to get fouled hard. He then went on to make one of his final plays something to remember. After the final buzzer sounded, Williams and his teammates took advantage of their last time on the court together by exchanging final hugs.

All three seniors left a mark on Vikings athletics and we are proud to watch them go on to face the world outside of North Park and make an even bigger difference out there than they did here at NP. Good luck, seniors and good luck in the off season North Park Basketball.

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