Lady Lions overcome Cougars in sloppy, defensive game

MOSES LAKE - It was far from a work of art, but for Moses Lake Christian girls coach Emerson Ferguson, Thursday's win over Warden was a beautiful thing.

The Lady Lions turned the ball over 24 times and shot just 33 percent from the field, but survived a couple rallies to defeat the Cougars 41-37 in the opening game of the Moses Lake Christian Christmas Tournament.

"Sometimes an ugly win is a good win," Ferguson said. "You've got learn how to win ugly and you've got to learn how to win clean."

The Lions, who will play for the tournament championship tonight at 6 p.m. against Bridgeport, started poorly in both halves but had the stronger will at the end. A lot of that was due to junior post Esther Timofeyev, who tallied 18 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots.

"She wants it - she doesn't care how she gets it, but she's going to get it," Ferguson said. "I just like the fact that, right now, her heart is big enough for the entire team. They feed off of a lot of what she does on the court."

After Warden surged out to a 10-4 lead after four minutes, Timofeyev carried Moses Lake Christian for the remainder of the half. The Lions went on a 15-4 run in the second period to take a 23-18 lead at halftime.

Timofeyev's post-up off an assist from Ashley Cole tied the score and, moments later, she converted a 3-point play off a putback. Heidi Sandberg, who also had key numbers with seven points, 14 rebounds and five steals, finished the late run with a breakaway lay-up caused by the Lions' full-court pressure.

"To me, that's nothing new - Heidi's been doing that her entire career," Ferguson said. "She just somehow has a nose for the ball, which is awesome. She doesn't score a lot, but she does everything else."

To the Cougars' credit, they didn't go away. In the third period, Kacey Kisler hit a couple short jumpers and Kelsey Garner finished on a fast break to give Warden a brief 27-26 lead. Kaitlyn Yamane's 10-footer tied the score at 29-29 going to the fourth.

"We were down by nine there, and we decided to bounce back in the third quarter," Warden head coach Todd Kisler said. "They don't ever give up - we've just got to finish them when they're close like that."

Jessica Jachetta hit one free throw to give the Lions a 38-37 edge with 1:17 remaining. Ashley Cole converted a transition layup and Sandberg hit another free throw, providing the final margin with 41 seconds left. Jachetta totaled 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals.

What cost the Cougars, in their coach's mind, was poor shooting from the field and, particularly, the free-throw line. Warden was only 8 of 18 at the charity stripe and only 14 of 48 from the floor.

Garner, who had a team-high 11 points, also missed some key minutes down the stretch after picking up her fourth foul early in the second half. And Brandy Kisler, one of the team's key posts who added five points and two steals, fouled out in the fourth quarter.

"Foul trouble plagued us a little bit late in the game there," Todd Kisler said.

The Cougars will play Tri-Cities Prep today at 3 p.m. in the third/fourth place game. As for the Lions, they're preparing for a fast-paced game with Bridgeport.

"They're a run-and-gun team and they've got a few good players," Ferguson said. "I think we've got a good game plan and we should come home with the victory."