Greyhounds eliminate Lady Tigers

EPHRATA — The Ephrata Lady Tigers girls basketball team fought for four quarters Monday night, but the Greyhounds from Grandview eliminated Ephrata from the postseason with a 48-37 victory.

The Lady Tigers battled with the Greyhounds through the first 8 minutes of Monday night’s loser-out district playoff game and the two Central Washington Athletic Conference rivals played to a 7-7 tie.

Ephrata managed to get a leg up on Grandview in the second quarter thanks in part to sophomore Margaret Eisen and senior Lexi Lange. Eisen and Lang led the Lady Tigers Monday night with 10 points apiece.

The Lady Tigers hit their free throws while the second quarter came to a close and Ephrata took a 16-14 lead into the break.

With their postseason hopes on the line, the Greyhounds raced out to a 7-0 run to begin the second half to turn a 16-14 halftime deficit into a 21-16 third-quarter advantage.

However, the Lady Tigers would not be denied at home as the ended Grandview’s run with a 5-0 run of their own to pull even at 21-21.

A smothering Ephrata defense kept the game close in the third quarter before the Greyhounds broke away to take a 23-21 lead with 15 seconds left on the clock.

With her team trailing by two in the third quarter, Eisen caught a pass off of an Ephrata screen to sink a field goal from 14-feet out to help tie the game heading into fourth quarter.

The Lady Tigers and the Greyhounds exchanged points early on before Grandview managed to take a one-point lead halfway through the fourth quarter.

After an Ephrata turnover gave the Greyhounds possession of the basketball, Grandview sophomore Jessica Lopez hit back-to-back 3-point shots on ensuing possessions to give Grandview a seven-point lead with 3:32 left in the contest.

Ephrata head coach Aaron Ross said the Greyhounds put the game away in the fourth quarter.

“Grandview played well and hit some big shots,” he said. “We had some defensive breakdowns and Lopez hit a couple of (3-pointers). We were down by one and she hit those shots and we are down seven.”

Ephrata was unable to respond to Lopez’s marksmanship behind the 3-point line and the Greyhounds pushed the advantage to 11 points with 2:06 remaining.

The Lady Tigers clawed their way back to an eight-point deficit with 1:50 left to play before the Greyhounds reclaimed their 11-point advantage with 1:13 left in the game.

On Ephrata’s next possession, Eisen hit another 3-point basket to cut the lead to single digits at 42-34 with :59 seconds left on the clock.

With less than a minute remaining, the Lady Tigers were forced to foul Grandview to extend their season and Lopez went 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the final minute to ice the victory for Grandview, ending Ephrata’s season.

“They hit their free throws down the stretch,” Ross said of Grandview. “They did everything they needed to do to win.”

Although his team lost Monday night, Ross was proud of his team’s performance this season.

“It was a successful season,” he said. “We went from being 1-19 last year to 10-10 this season and making the playoffs. I am very proud of our kids.”