Lady Lions come up short against Pateros

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake Christian Academy rallied from an early 12-point deficit to challenge Pateros in the second half, but ultimately fell 47-40 in a North Central Washington 1B league game Friday.

Trailing by six with 3:44 to play in the fourth quarter, MLCA's Jessica Jachetta hit a short jumper in transition to cut into the Nannies' lead.

After a defensive stop by the Lady Lions, MLCA got into their half-court offense, where Jachetta drove the baseline and found Chelsea Allsbrook open for a layup that made the score 40-38 with 1:48 left in regulation.

The rally would end there for the Lady Lions, as Pateros hit a 3-pointer on their next possession to push the lead to 5. MLCA had several good looks at the basket in the game's final 90 seconds, but couldn't knock down a shot.

"Some of it is them learning how to win," said MLCA coach Scott Dietzen. "It's great for us to have games like this; I'm real proud of how they are competing."

That competitive nature came through for the Lady Lions midway through the contest, when it appeared the game was about to get out of reach.

Pateros used a high-pressure, trapping defense and some hot early shooting to build a 22-10 lead with 2:40 to go before halftime. During the run, MLCA had trouble getting the ball down the court on offense, and on defense was unable to contain Nannies' outside shooters.

"The first quarter we let them rattle us," remarked Dietzen of the slow start. "All we've got to do is keep our composure."

When the Lady Lions finally did gather their composure, they turned the game around in remarkable fashion.

They finished the second quarter by outscoring Pateros 6-2, only giving up a difficult basket that just beat the halftime buzzer. MLCA then scored the first 15 points of the third quarter, as the Pateros shooters cooled off and the Lady Lions' half-court defense established itself.

"In the half-court set, on defense, I think we were real effective," said Dietzen. "We had some great stops."

Heidi Sandberg scored the first 5 points of the second half, part of her game-high 13 for the night.

With 5:54 to play in the third, Lindsay Dietzen hit a 3-pointer that tied the game at 24. On the Lady Lions' next passion, Dietzen buried another 3 from the same spot on the floor to give MLCA their first lead of the game. Dietzen had 12 points for the Lady Lions, including a 3 for 5 effort from beyond the arc.

Pateros was able to shut down the Lady Lions late in the third quarter, outscoring MLCA 11-2 in the final 3:02 of the period. With MLCA clinging to a 34-30 lead, Pateros scored 7 points in the final 28 seconds of the third quarter to take control of the game.

"We have to be able to maintain our poise and not have those little runs like that," said Dietzen of the Pateros scoring burst.

The run in the third quarter, as well as the Pateros' quick start, were due in large part to transition baskets created by MLCA turnovers.

While Pateros shot only 29 percent from the field for the game, they held a 25-9 advantage in points off turnovers.