Tough overtime loss for Chiefs

HERMISTON, Ore. - An early lead on the road at a top-notch squad's homecourt is nothing to scoff at.

Only winning that same game would have taken the cake for the Moses Lake Chiefs' girls basketball team.

After holding a nine-point lead into the second quarter against hosts Hermiston, Moses Lake slowly gave back that advantage before falling in a 72-67 overtime thriller.

"We had a nine-point lead in the second quarter but they were able to tie things up when we got into foul trouble," Chiefs' head coach Matt Strophy said. "We are not going to get the benefit of the calls on the road so we need to get through it and just run our offense. We did a pretty good job doing so."

Moses Lake (2-1) found itself in a battle after two routs this past weekend.

They used the experience to fight their way through more turbulent times, but their ability to hang tough under duress allowed Strophy the ability to preserve his timeouts toward the end of regulation and allow him to maneuver his team into position for a win.

"We were able to save our timeouts because the girls found a way to play through the Hermiston runs and that gave us a chance to battle at the end," Strophy said. "It gave us chances to know how to set ourselves up defensively and get the job done. We just fouled them too much in overtime and put them at free throw line."

Senior Jordan Loera led Moses Lake with 30 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and four steals.

She scored 22 of her points in the fourth quarter and in overtime.

"She proved her all-state-hood," Strophy said. "She just took over. There was one possession where she passed the ball and we called her over and told her to take over the ballgame while still incorporating the rest of the team."

Sophomore Kyleigh Gamez added 17 points while senior post Kayla Bernsen added 16 points.

Senior Magie Munoz added nine rebounds and four steals.

However, with three players scoring all but four points this could be a concern for the Chiefs.

"We need to finish as a team," Strophy said. "We had other girls throughout the game have opportunities and we missed nine inside layins. Contested or not and that can't happen."

Still it was a strong performance by the team in their first real test.

"It was a great experience game for us," Strophy said. "The most important thing we learned is we can play with anyone but now we need to make sure of taking those little things like taking care of the ball and making easy shots. We also learned we need to do a better job to adapt. But the younger girls learned they can play at this level."