Bulldogs nip Chiefs for league lead

Moses Lake sophomore guard Jordan Loera lays in the ball during the third quarter of the Chiefs' 63-56 loss to the Pasco Bulldogs Friday night. Photo by Derrick Pacheco/Columbia Basin Herald

by Derrick Pacheco<br
| January 12, 2009 8:00 PM

MOSES LAKE — The noise resonating inside the Moses Lake High School gym was nearly deafening Friday night as the Chiefs girls basketball team hosted archrival Pasco in front of a the largest home-crowd the Chiefs have had all season.

The student section was excited and the standing-room only crowd cheered on the Chiefs and Moses Lake battled with Pasco for four quarters.

The capacity crowd helped energize the Chiefs and Moses Lake head coach Matt Strophy said he appreciates the community support.

“Moses Lake has been one of the toughest places to play girls basketball,” he said. “Our community and our school have been very supportive. It’s a fun thing to be apart of.”

The Chiefs rallied from a 31-25 halftime deficit to the Bulldogs and Moses Lake battled to within a possession of the lead down the stretch. However, poor free-throw shooting and turnovers doomed Moses Lake and the Chiefs fell out of first place in the Columbia Basin Big Nine Conference’s Columbia Division.

“Our free-throw shooting is not where it needs to be,” Strophy said. “We need to focus and knock down our free throws. We gave them too many opportunities with our turnovers.”

The Chiefs and Bulldogs battled to a 15-15 tie through the first quarter as the conference foes fought over sole possession of the Columbia Division’s top spot.

Strophy said he was pleased to see his team play well to start the game.

“It’s fun to be a spectator at a game like that,” he said. “It was fun to watch that first quarter. “

After Pasco managed to build a 19-15 lead, the Chiefs pulled even with the Bulldogs at 19-19. The Chiefs were unable to stay with Pasco in the second quarter and the Bulldogs closed out the half with a 12-5 run to pull away from Moses Lake and take a 31-24 heading into the break.

The Pasco defense remained tough in the third quarter, holding the Chiefs to 10 points as the Bulldogs built a 48-35 lead heading into the final eight minutes.

The fourth quarter was Moses Lake’s as the Chiefs nearly erased the 13-point deficit — pulling within two points of Pasco with 1:30 left in the game.

“I am pleased with the fact that when we got down by more than 10 we battled back, we didn’t get rattled,” Strophy said.

However, the Chiefs would not close the gap as the Bulldogs went 5-for-6 from the free-throw line down the stretch to seal the 63-56 victory for the visitors.

Moses Lake senior Carly Noyes led the Chiefs on the offensive end with 20 points. Strophy said his senior played excellent basketball.

“She had a great game,” Strophy said. “When you can put 20 points on the board against Pasco (who knows) what to do and how to play her. The fact she can still put 20 on the scoreboard (says a lot).”

Sophomore guard Jordan Loera added 19 points in the loss and Strophy is impressed with her maturity on the court.

“She played extremely well,” he said. “She has a lot of pressure on her as a sophomore.”

Seniors Shelby Kenner and Kelly Sutherland each had six points for the Chiefs.

The loss dropped the Chiefs to 8-2 but Strophy said his team is in the right position for the remainder of the season.

“We have the talent to be where we want to be,” he said.

Moses Lake returns to the court Friday when they travel to Southridge to take on the Suns. The opening tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Boys Basketball

Pasco 81, Moses Lake 74

PASCO, Wash. — Josh Loera returned to his old ways Friday night, lighting up the scoreboard with 33 points, but it was not enough for the Chiefs boys basketball team to knock off conference rival Pasco on the road.

Loera led the Chiefs in the first quarter, hitting five 3-pointers and Moses Lake began the contest with a 20-5 run. The Chiefs couldn’t finish off the Bulldogs early as Pasco went on a 24-9 run to close out the first quarter and open the second.

Pasco eventually pulled even with Moses Lake at 29-29 and the Bulldogs defense kept the Chiefs to 12 second-quarter points and Pasco took a 41-37 lead into halftime.

Pasco ran out to a 50-40 lead in the third quarter but the Chiefs rallied, pulling within two points at the end of the period.

Moses Lake eventually pulled even in the fourth quarter but Pasco went on a 9-0 run to take a 65-56 lead with six minutes left to play. The Chiefs rallied over the next four minutes and closed the gap to four points but couldn’t top the Bulldogs on the road.

The Pasco defense kept Loera to only eight second-half points. Moses Lake’s Isaac Bergeson had 15 points for the Chiefs and Blake Roylance added 11 points.

The Chiefs next host the Southridge Suns Friday night at 7:30 p.m.