Lady Eagles defeat Lady Lions
Bethany Verhage of Moses Lake drives on Marisol Velasquez of Soap Lake Tuesday.<br>Pam Robel/Columbia Basin Herald
Last minute shot makes all the difference
MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake Christian Academy persevered in a new situation, keeping up with Soap Lake, but lost 35-33.
"It was a weird game," said Soap Lake head coach Tony Blankenship. I've got to give credit to Scott. I'm impressed with the team we played."
It was a game with few shots taken, several turnovers and a narrow margin of victory. Perhaps both teams should have taken the tip-off that had to be done twice as a sign to settle in for a long night of hoops.
Soap Lake's Marisol Velasquez got things started by sinking a mid-range jump shot.
The Lady Eagles dominated the early minutes of the game with Airel Wernex making a baby jumper and Kali Nielsen getting a drive layup and the foul for a 3-point play.
Lindsey Dietzen made up ground for the Lady Lions shooting a jumper and then scoring a layup with the help of Bathany Verhage to make it 7-6.
"I'm proud of the team for coming out and competing," said Moses Lake head coach Scott Dietzen. "I felt like through the first quarter we stayed right with them."
Verhage earned her first bucket of the night with four minutes left in the first quarter and put Moses Lake up by one.
Jessica Jachetta sunk a long 2-point shot for the Lady Lions and Heidi Sandberg followed it up with a put back.
With little more than a minute to play in the first period, Soap Lake tied the ball game at 12 from the freethrow line.
"Tonight is kind of about the unsung heroes for our team," said Blankenship. "Two freshman came out and led the team."
Moses Lake shut down Soap Lake's offense, forcing two consecutive shot clock violations to begin the second quarter.
The Lady Lions struck first offensively as well with Verhage finding Dietzen again for an easy bucket on an inbounds pass. Dietzen followed the layup with a 3-point shot to make it a 5-point ball game.
Moses Lake was able to maintain the 5-point lead until the Lady Eagles hit their scoring stride, going on a 10-0 run to end the second quarter up 23-18.
The Lady Lions continued to battle strong but could not regain the lead. They were held to just five points in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth quarter, Verhage earned the hoop and the foul. She was able to make the 3-point play and bring her team within one but Soap Lake kept the lead just out of reach.
The teams duked it out in the last minute of the game.
"We haven't been in many game winning situations," said Dietzen. "We're starting to come out and compete, so I'm pleased with that."
Verhage scored the final point of the game with a baby jumper to keep Moses Lake in the running but it was not enough for the win.
"I've got to hand it to Tony," said Dietzen. "He's done a great job with his team."
Soap Lake: Wernex and Michelle Marthini had eight points each. Marthini also had eight rebounds.
Moses Lake: Dietzen led the team with 11 points and eight rebounds. Verhage had seven points. Jachetta had six points. Sandberg had nine rebounds.
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