Chiefs hold on to move into state semis

TACOMA, Wash. — The Moses Lake Chiefs continued their run through the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association 4A girls state tournament Thursday afternoon with a 48-44 win over fifth-ranked Auburn-Riverside.

The sixth-ranked Chiefs led for all of Thursday’s quarterfinal victory, except for a 30-second span in the second quarter.

Moses Lake, playing in the quarterfinals for the second consecutive year, jumped out to a commanding 12-2 lead over the Ravens in the first quarter.

Moses Lake head coach Matt Strophy said it was important for his team to take an early lead.

“That was huge for us,” he said. “Our biggest lead was 10 points (in the first quarter). We pretty much (led) the entire game.”

The Chiefs were able to build a double-digit lead in the first quarter, but the Ravens would fight their way back with a 9-2 run to close the gap to 14-11.

Moses Lake continued to add to their lead in the second quarter, taking a 26-21 advantage into the break.

Although the Chiefs managed to hold a five-point lead over the Ravens heading into halftime, Moses Lake did not make a single trip to the free-throw line in the first half.

“That was a little tough,” Strophy said of his team’s inability to get to the line. “Unfortunately we didn’t get to the free-throw line in the first half. It was frustrating.”

While the Chiefs were unable to do damage from the free-throw line, sophomore guard Jordan Loera did plenty of damage from behind the 3-point arc. Loera scored 11 of her game-high 21 points in the first half, nine of which came from behind the arc.

With the Chiefs holding a 26-21 lead at the start of the third quarter, Moses Lake was able to push their advantage to 37-30 because of the play of Shelby Kenner and Chayla Hirz, Strophy said.

“Shelby Kenner was a force inside,” he said. “She was blocking out on every shot. She did all of the little things for us. So did Chayla Hirz. They both did the little things for us to allow our big three to (combine for 47 points).”

The Chiefs were able to push their lead to nine points in the fourth quarter when senior Kelly Sutherland hit an  important 3-pointer for Moses Lake, Strophy said.

“Kelly Sutherland hit a huge (3-point shot) in the fourth quarter,” he said. “That basket gave us some confidence. Building a lead like that allowed us to have more comfort and some confidence late in the game.”

While the Chiefs pushed the lead to nine points late, a stubborn Ravens team managed to cut the lead to 46-44 with less than a minute remaining, Strophy said.

“Our defense got a little stagnant late and they penetrated and got some easy baskets and made a game of it,” he said.

Although the Ravens closed the gap late, Sutherland stole the ball from Auburn-Riverside’s Nichole Jackson and pushed the ball down the court. Sutherland pulled up at the top of the key with 50 seconds remaining to seal the victory for the Chiefs.

While a late steal gave the victory to Moses Lake, Strophy said his team’s goal was to keep Auburn-Riverside off of the offensive glass.

“Our No. 1 priority was defensive rebounding,” he said. “They had 13 offensive rebounds, but they only had nine second-chance points.”

The Chiefs were able to deny the Ravens second-chance opportunities because Kenner and fellow senior Carly Noyes combined for 19 rebounds in the victory. Noyes grabbed 10 of them to go along with 14 points in the Moses Lake victory.

After Wednesday’s first round victory over South Kitsap, Strophy said his team needed to care of the basketball if they were to knock off Auburn-Riverside.

They did.

Moses Lake committed only 14 turnovers in Thursday’s win over the Ravens.

“We only turned the ball over 14 times,” Strophy said. “They only had 12 points off of turnovers. So, less than half of the time they got a turnover they scored.”

Strophy said his team’s transition defense prevented Auburn-Riverside from scoring off of Moses Lake turnovers.

“We played defense well in transition,” he said. “We contained their dribble and forced them to take outside shots.”

Although the Chiefs didn’t make a trip to the free-throw line in the first half, Moses Lake had 18 opportunities in the second, connecting on nine of them. Strophy said it was important that his players get to the free-throw line down the stretch.

“We were 50 percent from the free-throw line,” he said. “(Shooting free-throws) allowed us to catch our breath down the stretch.”

Auburn-Riverside’s running-style of play was nothing new to Moses Lake. Strophy said the Ravens played a style of play similar to that of Pasco.

“Pasco gave us four great practices for this game,” he said. “Those four games against Pasco really helped prepare us for this game (against Auburn-Riverside).”

With Auburn-Riverside and Pasco playing similar styles on the court, Strophy said the win over the Ravens Thursday will make his team more confident throughout the remainder of the state  tournament.

“It’s a huge confidence builder,” Strophy said of Thursday’s win.

While Moses Lake pulled out the victory over Auburn-Riverside, the Chiefs were unable to play in front of their fellow classmates.

A rooter bus with Moses Lake students tried to make the trip west to Tacoma Thursday, however, Snoqualmie Pass was closed due to inclement weather and the bus was forced to return to Moses Lake. The Chiefs were forced to play without the Moses Lake student section, the Tribe, present.

Prior to Moses Lake knocking off Auburn-Riverside, Strophy said his girls dedicated Thursday’s game to their absent classmates.

“In the locker room before the game, the girls said, ‘Before we Chief it up, lets do this for the Tribe,’” Strophy said.

With the win over Auburn-Riverside, the Chiefs improved to 22-6 this season and will play the Snohomish Panthers tonight at 7 p.m. in the state semifinals.

The Panthers enter tonight’s game with a 23-2 record and Strophy is excited for the challenge Snohomish brings to the court.

“Snohomish is one of the top five or six teams in the state,” he said. “We want to play the best and beat the best. We want to show everyone we are one of the best in the state.”