Lady Tigers record big win
EPHRATA — Huge. Simply put, the Ephrata Lady Tigers’ 49-47 win last night over Ellensburg was as big as it gets.
Now the key for the young squad is to build on it and not revel in the victory.
“The way I see it is that it’s a great win,” Ephrata junior Abby Smith said. “If we beat Wapato (tonight) it will make people see us as more of a threat. Beating Ellensburg was huge but we have to keep beating the big teams or we’re just still going to be a team in the middle of the pack.”
The Lady Tigers (6-5, 5-4 in Central Washington Athletic Conference play) were able to build a lead through the game’s first three quarters only to see the 6th-ranked 2A team make a late rally to make things interesting.
Ellensburg (8-2, 7-1) had the ball with 15 seconds remaining and missed a game-winning three-point shot and subsequent potential tying putback as the buzzer sounded.
“I didn’t really know where the clock was and yelling at the kids to rebound,” Ephrata coach Aaron Ross said. “Then the buzzer went off and I was like thank God it’s over.”
Once the win and its implications sank in, Ross admitted such a conquest could be pivotal for his team’s second-half charge.
“It’s really exciting for our kids,” Ross said. “The kids were really ecstatic and hopefully it’s one of those games that can gives us a boost. They work so hard and this such a big win. At least we took a step in that direction of coming of age. We learned how to be in one of these games and be able to win them.”
Ephrata led 33-23 at halftime and pumped it up to 43-32 before holding off the Ellensburg late comeback.
“We were really consistent offensively throughout the game and ran our stuff really solid,” Ross said. “We limited our turnovers and hit some key shots. We were really intent on what we were trying to do.”
Mallory Lotz led Ephrata with 13 points, Smith added 11 points, and Heidi Buchert grabbed 10 rebounds.
“It’s incredible,” Smith said. “We’ve been working so hard and we deserve it. Our young girls have a lot of talent and we are doing what we need to do to win. We’ve never beaten Ellensburg or one of those top teams since coach started here. We’re not comfortable where we are and we needed that big win. Now we just need to keep doing what we are doing.”
ACH 58, Kittitas 36
COULEE CITY — Bouncing off the deck from a tough loss at Reardan on Saturday, the Almira/Coulee-Hartline Lady Warriors recorded their second straight big win with a 58-36 victory over Kittitas.
Madeline Isaak scored 14 points for the Lady Warriors (13-2, 5-0) while Nikki Osborne chipped in with 14 points and Sarah Gloyn added 11 points.
Cascade Christian 40, Columbia Basin Secondary 20
WENATCHEE — An improved effort was not enough for the Columbia Basin Secondary school as they were defeated at Cascade Christian 40-20 on Thursday night.
No other details were made available.