Chiefs fall again in extra time on busy night in Columbia Basin

POST FALLS, Idaho - These were not a nice collection of warm

turnovers filled with apples, cherries, or peaches.

No, these were the basketball kind full of frustration,

irritation, and a need for Tums.

Post Falls 50, MOSES LAKE 48 (OT)

POST FALLS, Idaho - These were not a nice collection of warm turnovers filled with apples, cherries, or peaches.

No, these were the basketball kind full of frustration, irritation, and a need for Tums.

Hurt by 12 first quarter turnovers that led to a 17-6 deficit after the game's first eight minutes, the Moses Lake Chiefs girls basketball team pushed, pulled, and rallied from that point on but couldn't overcome hosts Post Falls in a 50-48 overtime loss.

It was the Chiefs' (3-2) second extra-session defeat this season.

Moses Lake finished with an unofficial tally of 25 turnovers.

"It was nothing new, nothing we hadn't seen before and hadn't seen coming," Moses Lake head coach Matt Strophy said. "I don't have an answer for our lack of execution in our press offense. Maybe we don't prepare ourselves in practice for that with the needed type of intensity."

Once they got their rhythm in check the Chiefs slowly pecked away at the deficit, cutting the gap to 28-21 at halftime.

"I think we just executed better we didn't change anything," Strophy said. "We also did a better job of rotating on defense and blocking out on rebounds. But we still missed nine shots inside of five-feet."

By the end of the third quarter, Moses Lake had cut the deficit to 35-33 but the missed chip-shots continued to plague them.

"We were just chipping away but we still missed too many easy shots," Strophy said. "If we had a shot clock we would have forced them into at least 10 shot-clock violations. I think not having one is definitely at the advantage to their team."

Idaho does not play with a shot clock and homecourt rules dictated one not be used.

Moses Lake tied the game at 42 with less than 10 seconds left when Chief Kayla Bernsen followed up a miss and laid it in, sending the game into overtime.

From there Post Falls scored from the free throw line all but two of their points, including one that came after a Tasha Gentry trey that made the score 49-48 in the waning seconds.

Moses Lake had a chance to tie or win after that split of two Post Falls free throws but a turnover duly ended the game.

Jordan Loera led the Chiefs with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, while Bernsen finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.

Magie Munoz added 10 rebounds for Moses Lake, who was without top substitute, sophomore Kyleigh Gamez, due to injury.

"We have to knuckle down to practice at game speed," Strophy said. "That responsibility is shared between the coaches and girls."

WILSON CREEK 28, COLUMBIA BASIN SECONDARY SCHOOL 24 (OT)

MOSES LAKE - Coming in to their North Central Washington 1B league opener last night, the Wilson Creek Lady Devils and the host Columbia Basin Secondary School Phoenix looked across at one another and saw the same thing:

A team hoping for its first win of the season.

In the end it took four extra minutes of play to decide who started league play with a win and ended their losing ways.

Wilson Creek came back from a 17-13 fourth quarter deficit to tie the score at 21, sending the game into overtime where they would win it 28-24.

"It's one of those where it's so close and we were winning the whole game," Phoenix head coach Ashlee Holten said. "It was a really competitive game. We were the home team with the crowd yelling for us. When it comes down to it we are just inexperienced in those type of situations. It was fun and exciting but it can be overwhelming at the same time."

Wilson Creek (1-3, 1-0) tied the game at 21 with about three minutes left in the game but then neither team could score, including the Secondary School three one-and-one opportunities.

In the extra session, Tori Diamond hit a three-pointer and Holly Wilson helped close out the win for the Lady Devils.

"They came out and hit that three and then we turned it over," Holten said. "Then they were ahead and just had to work off that last two minutes or so."

Wilson led Wilson Creek with 17 points and Diamond added seven points.

The Phoenix got 23 rebounds and 12 points from Jerinn Anderson and a six-point performance from Tatiana Perez.

"The girls this year are learning quick and practicing hard even with the few players we have," Holten said of her current, five-player squad. "We ask them to run specific offenses and make hustle plays on defense and they do it 100 percent. They are extremely coachable and have a passion to do better."

MOSES LAKE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY 53, Cascade Christian 9

MOSES LAKE - Even if they wanted to or not the Moses Lake Christian Academy Lady Lions got to show a little mercy in their North Central Washington 1B league opener last night.

With the new 40-point mercy rule allowing for a running clock from that point on, the Lady Lions were able to leave earlier than expected but not before recording a 53-9 rout over the visiting Cascade Christian Wolverines

"The girls arrived at the gym a little early and looked like they'd be ready to play," Lady Lions head coach Bryce McPartland said. "It wasn't always pretty, but they were able to get a quick jump on Cascade Christian and I think that took the opposition aback a little bit."

The Academy jumped out to a 16-4 lead after the first quarter and built that cushion to 31-6 lead.

Leading the way for MLCA (3-1, 1-0) was Rachel Verhage, who scored 21 points and grabbed 14 rebounds and Madison Yamane who put up 13 points and 11 rebounds while playing a large number of minutes at the point for the injured Kristina Firouzi.

"Madison and Rachel tend to score a little bit more, but those four put a ridiculous amount of pressure on the oppositions ball-handlers," McPartland said. "Madison spent a lot of time this summer increasing her range and her three three-pointers. She forced Cascade Christian to defend out a little further than I think they really wanted to be."

The team's ability to pressure the ball with their speed and interchangeable parts as aided the Lady Lions in their solid start to the season.

"With the exception of the loss at ACH, we've had a lot of success forcing the issue on the defensive end," McPartland said. "This was a good game for our squad. We needed to open league-play strong, and I think we did a pretty good job of that tonight."

Chelan 50, EPHRATA 56

EPHRATA - A nice home win was just what the doctor ordered for the Ephrata Lady Tigers.

Ephrata ended a two-game losing streak last night with 56-50 non-league win over Chelan to move to 3-2 on the season.

Kendra De Hoog scored 14 points and grabbed four rebounds, while Heidi Buchert chipped in with 12 points, nine rebounds, and four assists, while Hailey Boyd wrapped up her night with 10 points and seven rebounds.

"Overall we played pretty solid and we rebounded very well," Ephrata head coach Aaron Ross said. "We did a nice job of controlling the game and we played well defensively."

Naches Valley 60, ROYAL 14

ROYAL CITY - A young Royal Lady Knights basketball squad fell at Naches Valley last night, 60-14.

Terrin Gonzales led Royal (0-3) with five points and seven rebounds.

"We are still having problems with turning the ball over," Royal head coach Phil Daubel said.

ACH 62, Omak 34

OMAK - Despite not having one of their top scorers in the lineup, the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Lady Warriors made short order of hosts Omak on Tuesday night.

Junior guard Madeline Isaak sat out the ACH 62-34 win with a cold but as results indicate, the team did a nice job of filling in.

Nikki Osborne led ACH (4-0) with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Sarah Gloyn scored 15 points and Kodi Noggles finished with 12 points.

Grandview 54, QUINCY 46

GRANDVIEW - Quincy made a game of it last night at Grandview but fell short in Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) play as the Lady Jackrabbits fell 54-46.

Grandview's Payton Parrish and Marissa Caballero stung Quincy (1-4, 1-2) for a combined 39 points.

"They had two players that did really well for them," Quincy head coach Cully Donovan said. "We had a hard time containing them. Caballero was getting open for a lot of perimeter shots and Parrish did a nice job inside."

Quincy trailed 45-31 heading into the fourth quarter before mountain a furious comeback.

Desiree Durfee led Quincy with 14 points while Cassidee Davis chipped in with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

"We took care of the basketball better than we have and shot better than we have in previous games." Donovan said. "We rallied but couldn't get over the hump."

Bridgeport 47, SOAP LAKE 38

Bridgeport - Soap Lake's Lady Eagles couldn't get out of Bridgeport with their first win of the season but they showed marked improvement since their last outing.

Soap Lake (0-2) playing only their second game of the season due to postponements caused by weather fell in a close 47-38 battle at Bridgeport last night.

Diana Shteba led Soap Lake with 10 points and Irina Turchik contributed seven points in the loss.