Ephrata battles State Champs

YAKIMA — The Lady Tigers of Ephrata (11-13) battled against the Knights of Kings High School (22-2) for a win in the first round of the 2A State Tournament Wednesday.

The Knights came out on top 60-37.

"We didn't play poorly," said Ephrata head coach Missy Beierman. "I'm not disappointed in their efforts. We exectued decently well."

Kyla Whitaker, Ephrata's leading point scorer with 20 for the game, got the offense started for the Lady Tigers driving to the hoop on Ephrata's second trip down court.

Kings followed Whitaker's bucket with two turnovers and two steals before converting the second steal for points.

Courtney Webb then got a piece of the scoring action for Ephrata, earning a putback in the paint to make it 6-4.

Whitaker tied the game at six after four minutes, it would be as close as the Lady Tigers would get to lead for the rest of the game.

Ephrata struggled to get shots to fall and suffered from 25 turnovers, 17 in the first half alone.

"We had too many turnovers," Beierman said. "They got a few more second chance shots than they should have."

Kellee Neal was the only other Ephrata player to score in the first quarter, earning a layup in the closing minute of the period to make it 15-10.

The Knights scored twice more before the quarter ended.

Both teams open the second quarter with turnovers before settling back into play.

Neal scored the first bucket of the period for Ephrata off of an assist from Kyndra Purcell.

Whitaker continued to produce points for her team, drawing a foul and going 2-for-2 from the line. She then followed up the freethrows with a 3-ball with four minutes left in the half.

The 3-point shot was Ephrata's last score of the half and the Lady Tigers went into the locker room down 33-17.

Webb opened the second half with a layup on an assist from Neal for Ephrata. The duo switched places on the next trip down court, with Webb assisting Neal.

Kings then scored 16 unanswered points to take complete control of the game.

Ephrata continued to battle through the closing moments but could not gain any momentum after the scoring run by the Knights.

Webb and Neal finished with game with 10 points each and Neal added nine rebounds to her stats as well.

"Competition should be a little easier tomorrow and the result should be better," said Beierman.

Ephrata played Forks (16-8) at 9 a.m.