Girls Prep Basketball: Sunnyside Christian 38, Moses Lake Christian Academy 23

MOSES LAKE - Someone walked into the Moses Lake Christian Academy gym Saturday night, looked at the scoreboard after 10 minutes, and appeared completely confused.

"You mean we're losing?"

The "we" the patron was referring to were the host Lady Lions who were playing host to the Class 1B fourth-ranked squad of Sunnyside Christian.

At a glance it appeared the Lady Lions were ahead, based on numerous steals and their much more aggressive play.

Alas, at that moment they trailed 15-4 and were on their way to a very misleading 38-23 loss.

"We lost by 15, and that isn't great, but we missed 12 free throws and about 15 lay-ins, which you can't do if you want to compete with the best teams in the state," Lady Lions head coach Bryce McPartland said. "That being said, the girls effort was phenomenal. We didn't always play smart or error free, but I can not say enough about their heart and desire. They have great upside and for a team whose biggest class is in the 8th grade to battle it out with Juniors and Seniors, I think the best is yet to come."

The Academy (4-2) trailed 20-9 at halftime and could never dent the deficit back inside of 10 points but they had numerous forced turnovers that would ultimately lead to many more unchallenged missed shots.

Lady Lion McKenna Walker thrilled the crowd with her numerous steals and near-swipes as she finished her night with seven points, eight steals, and seven rebounds.

"I think McKenna was trying to bring us back all by herself," McPartland said. "Her effort to track down loose balls or jump in the passing lanes was nothing short of outstanding. She's only 13, but she was eating up their guards once she got over the initial shock of playing a sound team."

Rachel Verhage also scored seven points for the Lady Lions who shot only 17 percent from the field but did keep Sunnyside Christian to 33 percent in turn.