Lady Lions drop district playoff to heavyweight Entiat
The Ephrata Heat AAU basketball team pose after their tournament title at the Eastmont Classic. Pictured in the front row, left to right, are: Coach Mingo Scott, Shala Scott, Kendall Sage, Monae Hendrickson, Fredlynne Ham. Back row: Astride Ham, Kyna Jacobsen, Sarah Pheasant, Tish Conklin. Courtesy photo
Girls basketball recaps
WENATCHEE - The Moses Lake Christian girls kept Monday's district basketball playoff opener close for awhile, but were eventually overwhelmed by the Entiat Tigers, one of Class 1B's top 10 teams.
Entiat, the No. 2 seed at the North Central League tournament, outscored the Lady Lions 31-13 in the second half and rolled to a 45-18 victory at Wenatchee High School. The loss means Moses Lake Christian (9-10 overall) faces a loser-out situation on Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m., likely against fourth-seeded Mansfield. That game also takes place at Wenatchee.
The Lions and Kernels split their regular-season matchups, with Moses Lake Christian winning 78-30 in a Jan. 4 road game, and Mansfield winning the rematch in Moses Lake on Jan. 19, 40-28.
Against Entiat, Jessica Jachetta led the Lions with seven points and Esther Timofeyev had a game-high 14 rebounds. Shawnee Ledbetter led the Tigers with 14 points, and Jamie Wilson grabbed nine rebounds.
After falling behind 5-0 after the first quarter, Entiat had a 14-0 spurt in the second and never trailed again.
Toppenish 54, Ephrata 51
EPHRATA - The Wildcats officially ended what small playoff hopes the Lady Tigers harbored, breaking free from a 38-38 tie entering the fourth quarter to win their Central Washington Athletic Conference contest.
Ephrata (1-17 overall, 1-15 CWAC) got an outstanding game from senior guard BreAnne Duff, who scored 23 points. But she was the only Tiger in double figures. Lexi Lange chipped in seven points and five assists for the Tigers, while Margaret Eisen grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
That wasn't enough to stop Ximena Prieto, who paced Toppenish with 26 points. Aracely Zuniga, who had seven assists for the Wildcats, hit a 3-pointer with 13 seconds left that proved to be the game-winner.
Ephrata hosts East Valley on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Othello 79, Prosser 75
PROSSER - In a tense, back-and-forth contest between CWAC powers at Bowden Court, the fifth-ranked Huskies scored the game's final five points and escaped with win No. 15 in a row.
Allison Walker had a huge hand in the win, finishing with game-highs of 33 points, 20 rebounds and six steals. She was 13 of 23 on field-goal attempts, and gave the Huskies the lead for good with a post-up shot in the final minute.
Christine Kirkwood scored 23 points, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range, and added nine rebounds and three assists. Courtney Kirkwood had nine points, five boards and six assists.
The Huskies limited Prosser to 26 of 70 from the floor and won the rebounding battle 50-32. Jordan Brown paced the Mustangs with 29 points, while freshman phenom Tamara Jones scored 24.
Othello travels to Toppenish on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Grandview 74, Quincy 40
GRANDVIEW - The Lady Jackrabbits could've all but punched their postseason ticket, but instead got punched by a hungry group of Greyhounds in CWAC action.
Grandview took a 43-10 halftime lead, overwhelming Quincy from all angles. Kinzi Poteet had 20 points to lead the Greyhounds, with Jessica Lopez scoring 15 and Anna George adding 14. Tashia Zamarron paced the Jacks with 16 points and Dayanna Lopez chipped in 13.
Quincy hosts Selah on Senior Night, Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Wapato 51, Ephrata 34
WAPATO - BreAnne Duff again paced the Lady Tigers with 13 points, but didn't get any support as the Wolves scored 24 of the game's first 28 points.
Wapato took control of the CWAC meeting behind 14 points apiece from Denise Smiscon and Bertha Valencia, while Wanda Wong added 12 points. Duff was the only Tiger in double figures, though Justine Hintz added eight points.
Entiat 67, Wilson Creek 30
ENTIAT - The Lady Devils simply couldn't keep pace with the Tigers, one of the top 10 teams in the 1B classification, in North Central League play.
Entiat (18-2 overall, 9-1 league) grabbed a 20-9 lead after one quarter, increased it to 38-17 at the break, then eliminated any comeback hopes with an 18-2 run in the third period.
Ksenja Fredere and Holly Wilson paced the Devils with nine points apiece. Wilson Creek ended its season at 9-9 overall, 3-7 in league.
Pateros 53, Moses Lake Christian 38
MOSES LAKE - The Lady Lions had a rough start against the visiting Nannies, falling behind 22-8 after one quarter in their North Central 1B League meeting.
Moses Lake Christian was only 30 percent from the floor and made only 1 of its 9 attempts from 3-point range. Esther Timofeyev and Heidi Sandberg each scored eight points, and Chelsea Allsbrook had seven.
Pateros quickly increased its lead behind the play of Michelle Bruno (18 points), Vanessa Taylor (14 points, eight rebounds) and Clara Hull (15 points, 10 rebounds).
Moses Lake Christian was 13 of 15 on free throws (87 percent) but committed 23 turnovers in the loss.