Moses Lake advances to state quarterfinals

TACOMA, Wash. —  The Moses Lake Chiefs girls basketball team moved one step closer to a possible state championship Wednesday morning when they knocked off South Kitsap 51-38.

The Chiefs cruised to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association 4A girls state tournament quarterfinals with the win over the Wolves.

The Chiefs jumped out to a 17-2 lead in the first quarter and Moses Lake head coach Matt Strophy said it was important to jump on South Kitsap early.

“That was huge,” Strophy said of the run to start the game.

Despite jumping out to big lead early, the Chiefs allowed the Wolves to get back in the game near the end of the quarter.

“At the end of each quarter they were able to score on us,” he said. “You have to give South Kitsap credit. They were pretty resilient.”

Although the Wolves managed to close the gap near the end of the first quarter, the Chiefs were able to push the advantage to 31-18 heading into the break.

When Moses Lake played their type of basketball Wednesday morning, they were hard to defend, Strophy said.

“When we played Moses Lake Chiefs basketball, it wasn’t good for South Kitsap,” he said.

The Wolves tried to claw their way back in the third quarter, cutting the Moses Lake lead to 37-28. That would be as close as the Wolves would get as Moses Lake cruised in the fourth quarter for the 51-38 victory.

The Chiefs and Wolves tipped off at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday and Strophy said his team played well for taking the court in the morning.

“Being that we started at 10:30 in the morning, it was a good game,” he said.

Moses Lake senior center Carly Noyes led all scorers with 20 points. The senior also grabbed six rebounds.

Noyes, who will play basketball next season for Washington State University, led the Chiefs on defense with nine blocked shots.

Strophy said his senior star came to play on the defensive end.

“It seemed like when (South Kitsap) got within arms-length of her, she was blocking their shots,” he said. “I thought Carly had more than (nine blocked shots).”

Noyes finished the day 10-for-13 from the floor and sophomore guard Jordan Loera added 16 points for the sixth-ranked Chiefs. Loera was 3-for-5 from behind the 3-point arc to help propel the Chiefs into the quarterfinals.

Moses Lake will take on fifth-ranked Auburn-Riverside this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. in the Tacoma Dome.

Although the Chiefs haven’t played the Auburn-Riverside Ravens this season, Strophy said his girls are familiar with their style of play.

“They are a lot like Pasco,” he said. “If (we) turn the ball over (against them) it is going to be a long game.”

With the victory over South Kitsap Wednesday, the Chiefs moved on to the quarterfinals of the state tournament for the second consecutive season.

Moses Lake advanced to the state championship game last season before losing 42-37 to champion Lewis and Clark.