Lady Lions cruise past Wolverines

MOSES LAKE — The Lady Lions of the Moses Lake Christian Academy overcame a slow start to roll past the visiting Cascade Christian Academy Wolverines 47-30 in North Central Washington 1B girls basketball action Tuesday night.

The Lady Lions and the Wolverines battled closely through half of the first quarter of Tuesday night’s game with the Lady Lions scratching out a 5-6 advantage after four minutes. Then it was all Moses Lake Christian.

Moses Lake Christian pushed a 6-5 lead halfway through the first quarter into a 12-5 advantage to start the second quarter. The Lady Lions continued their strong first half by taking a 21-11 lead into the break.

Moses Lake Christian head coach Bryce McPartland said his team played well Tuesday night.

“Overall, this has been our most complete game,” he said. “Even though we have played tougher opponents.”

The Lady Lions were led on offense by sophomore Melissa Verhage and freshman Kristina Firouzi. Verhage led Moses Lake Christian with 14 points and Firouzi added 10 as she executed her team’s offense, McPartland said.

“Firouzi is our point guard,” he said. “If she isn’t running the offense well, we struggle.”

Moses Lake Christian senior Esther Timofeyev, who scored 83 points in two games last weekend, was held to only nine points. McPartland said his team’s ability to pick up Timofeyev will help his team down the stretch.

“In the beginning of the season if Esther scored nine points we may have scored 12,” he said. “This has been the most balanced game we have played.”

The win over Cascade Christian was Moses Lake Christian’s third consecutive league victory, but McPartland said he team needs to capitalize early in games.

“We still have to realize if we are going to take the next step that we have to control games early,” he said. “We can’t wait until the fourth quarter. We have to put the screws to them early.”