Lady Chiefs knock Eastmont around

Moses Lake holds Lady Wildcats to five points in first half

MOSES LAKE — One statistic tells the story of the game between Moses Lake and Eastmont Thursday night: Moses Lake's Carrie Sawyer had as many points in the first three minutes as Eastmont had in the entire first half.

The Lady Chiefs shot 67 percent in the first half and ran away with a 64-28 win in Moses Lake Thursday night.

Eastmont was missing two starters due to injury, leaving Moses Lake head coach Matt Strophy worried his players would not bring their full intensity.

"I'm telling our girls, 'Don't come into this game having a letdown,'" he said.

Instead, the Lady Chiefs shot better than Strophy had ever seen.

Four players scored in double digits, something that had never happened during Strophy's tenure.

Moses Lake's defense came, too.

Sucked into a 2-1-2 zone, the Lady Chiefs jumped into passing lanes, swiped balls off the dribble and blocked anything in the key. Eastmont was held to three points in the first quarter, two in the second.

The Lady Chiefs were led by Sawyer and guard Sarah Kast with 13 points each. Forward Mckenzie Mckean added 10 and every Moses Lake player scored at least one.

Taking a 42-10 lead into the fourth quarter, Moses Lake hit a rough patch when Eastmont ran a full-court press. Eastmont scored 20 points in the final period, but the game was never in question.

"I don't know why they didn't press more," Strophy said. "When they pressed us, they were a little better."

The win puts Moses Lake at 7-7 in the Big Nine, already matching their win total from last year. The Lady Chiefs are in sixth place, with the top six teams moving to the district playoffs. But Moses Lake does not have a clean path to the playoffs.

"Right now the playoff picture is muddy at best," Strophy said. Moses Lake, Davis, Walla Walla and Kamiaken all vie for the final three berths with six games left. And none of the teams have separated themselves from the pack — they are all within a game of each other.

Strophy said 10-10 is a realistic finish for his team. But it is also likely for the other three contenders, causing the number of road wins to be a tiebreaker between them.

Moses Lake's lone road win may put them on the outside, looking in.

"That might unfortunately come back and bite us," Strophy said. "They could have the same record, because maybe they lost more home games, but they won more road games."

Regardless, Strophy said his team needs to finish strong and let the chips fall where they may.

"We're right in the thick of things," Strophy said. "We split with Davis, we split with Walla Walla, we lost at Kamiaken. We have Kamiaken at home the last game of the season. That will determine our playoffs."