Chelan secures its spot in the North

EPHRATA — Chelan won the first meeting by a slim four-point margin. In a rematch for Ephrata, the Goats made things better with a 56-43 win over the Tigers.

A somber Missy Beierman said the loss wasn't a surprise, but a "gut-check" for the Ephrata girls basketball team.

"You kind of feel like you took a step back because things didn't go the way they have been," Beierman, head coach for the Tigers, said. "I don't know if it is a real step back, but a gut-check for us because this shows us what we (have) to do to play with the best teams."

In the first meeting, Chelan pulled off a 45-41 win over the Tigers to remain solely in first place of the CWAC North. Ephrata then rattled off three straight wins in preparation for Thursday night's rematch.

But turnovers and second-chance opportunities limited the rematch to a mere reality check for the Tigers. The Goats scored 20 points off turnovers and capitalized on offensive rebounds to put Ephrata away.

"A good team like Chelan is going to make you pay for those second-chance opportunities," Beierman said. "We have to minimize those opportunities if we are going to stay with them."

On the offensive end, the Tigers made 17 of 33 shots from the field, compared to Chelan's 23 field goals made in the game.

Kristin Schramm took on Ephrata in the first quarter, scoring all of the Goats' 11 points. Schramm finished the game with 22.

Both teams swapped shots early in the second quarter, but Chelan's Cassy Pilkinton, who finished with 11 points in the game, drilled a 3-pointer with 3:57 left in the half to put the Goats up 20-9. Ephrata came out of a timeout with 2:59 left in the second and Courtney Webb, who finished with 12 points, scored the final two baskets of the quarter to cut the lead to 24-16 at halftime.

Chelan started to put the game away in the third when Pilkinton back-to-back 3's for a 32 18 lead over the Tigers with 4:10 left in the quarter. Ephrata managed a spark of offense with Kellee Neal cutting to the basket three straight times, pulling the Tigers within 10 late in the third quarter.

Webb cut the lead to 38-29 with a 3-pointer from the corner, but Chelan's Samantha Schultz hit a jumper before the end of the third for a 40-29 lead.

"We tried to get after them and we had these glitches where we did that," Beierman said about the third-quarter run.

Tiffany Moncrief opened the fourth quarter with a basket, but Maddie Miller, Schultz and Schramm hit consecutive baskets to extend the lead to 46-31.

The Tigers face Cascade, who is third in the league, on Saturday. Beierman said that game will guage the impact of Chelan's 56-43 romping of the Tigers.

"We talked about what kind of resiliency do we have?" Beierman said. "They have solid players and we need to slow them down."