Academy records 54-22 win, Lady Cougars fall

Moses Lake Christian Academy 54, Cascade Christian 22; Connell 73, Warden 21

MOSES LAKE — Having a killer instinct in sports is either inbred or learned through experience.

For the Moses Lake Christian Academy girls basketball team it appears to be growing as the Lady Lions chalk up more wins.

Coach Bryce McPartland’s team came that much closer to realizing the power of putting a team away with a convincing 54-22 win over Cascade Christian last night.

The Lady Lions (5-3, 1-2) recorded their first 1B North Central Washington league game on the campaign.

“We thought we had the kind of team that could beat Cascade Christian, but wanted to do so in a way that was more convincing than some of our previous wins,” McPartland said. “What our girls need to take from this and improve upon is to get more physical when we play a physical team and responding to another team’s aggression.”

Cascade Christian kept things close, trailing 14-7 after the first quarter before the Academy blew out to a 29-13 halftime lead.

“Tonight we got off to a little bit of a slow start,” McPartland said. “We were down 7-6 before we turned on the jets. The girls came out and looked really motivated and really got after Cascade Christian on both ends of the floor.”

Eighth-grader Susan Timofeyev finished with 25 points and 16 rebounds, and freshman Rachel Verhage added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Lady Lions.

Madison Yamane ran the Academy offense to the tune of nine assists.

The Lady Lions pumped up the lead to 44-19 after three quarters before coasting to the win.

“We changed up our defense going from man to one of our zones and then went back and I think it threw them a little bit,” McPartland said. “I don’t think they knew quite how to make the adjustments. Cascade Christian didn’t look as comfortable since they didn’t see what was coming.”

Connell  73, Warden 21

WARDEN — Playing against a top team, one must take advantage of all opportunities which could behoove chances for victory.

For the young Warden Lady Cougars playing host to South Central Athletic Conference leaders Connell, Thursday night was an exercises in opportunities gained only to be lost.

Connell took advantage of Warden turnovers and missed free throws early and eventually pulled away for a convincing 73-21 win.

Warden (1-10, 0-3) fell behind 15-0 out of the gate before they began to grind out good defensive stops and find their way to the rim, forcing the officials to call fouls on Connell.

However, Warden missed six free throws, including two one-and-ones, and could only close the gap to 18-4 by the time the quarter ended.

“The misses affected us a lot,” Warden coach Todd Kisler said. “If you can’t keep a game close and you look at the scoreboard and see it is 18-4 when it could have been 18-12, it makes a difference.”

Connell built the lead to 35-10 at halftime and methodically pulled away behind four players scoring in double figures.

Warden was led by Kacey Kisler’s nine points and Emma Bisnett’s six points.

The Lady Cougars finished with 30 turnovers on the night as their starting point guard Lindsay Cole continues to sit out due to injury.

“Teams come out and put pressure on us and its over,” Todd Kisler said. “We have to remain calm and square up to make a pass and make a pass someone else can catch.”

Despite the large margin of victory for Connell, Warden may not be separated by as wide a chasm as the score may indicate.