Chiefs move on to state

KENNEWICK, Wash. — For the fourth time this season, the Moses Lake Chiefs girls basketball team found themselves eye to eye with the Pasco Bulldogs, this time in the regional championship game.

For the fourth time this season, the Moses Lake Chiefs watched the Bulldogs celebrate at their expense.

The Chiefs fell 58-50 to third-ranked Pasco Saturday.

Despite the loss, Moses Lake head coach Matt Strophy was proud of his team’s performance.

“We qualified for state, so it was a great tournament,” he said.

While Moses Lake couldn’t find an answer for the Bulldogs, the Chiefs still found themselves with a ticket to the state tournament this week at the Tacoma Dome.

The Bulldogs held off the Chiefs in the first quarter and Pasco took a 12-8 lead into the second.

Moses Lake senior Carly Noyes worked to close the gap, but the Bulldogs took a 27-24 lead into the break. Noyes led Moses Lake with 25 points.

While the Chiefs continued to fight in the second half, the Bulldogs managed to take the lead with 4 minutes left in the third quarter, a lead they would never give up. The Chiefs would only get as close as 53-50 with 1:20 left in the contest.

Danielle Walter of Pasco sank a pair of free throws with 11 seconds remaining to seal the game and the victory for the Bulldogs.

Strophy said his team had a chance to pull within a possession of Pasco with less than a minute remaining.

“We had an opportunity to cut it to one,” he said. “We missed our shot and they banked in a (3-pointer) to push it to six. Then Walter hit a pair of free throws.”

Although the Chiefs fell to Pasco for the fourth time this season, Strophy said his girls are confident heading into the state tournament.

“The girls believe they can beat anybody,” he said.

The Chiefs return to the court Wednesday in Tacoma at the state tournament.

Moses Lake’s first opponent is South Kitsap at 10:30 a.m.