Moses Lake girls show improvement

SPOKANE - The Chiefs summer league basketball team had a good outing at the Gonzaga Tournament as the girls won three of seven fiercely competitive games in Spokane over the weekend.

The four losses were by a combined 40 points, 22 of them coming in the game against Gonzaga Prep.

Moses Lake got off on the right foot with a 40-29 win over Ferris High School Friday night. Sadie Nielsen led the way for the Chiefs with 10 points and four rebounds.

Kaitlyn Stevens added eight points and six boards, Emily Olson contributed seven points, five rebounds and three blocks, Jessie Loera had seven points, three rebounds and two steals, and Alysha Overland finished with seven boards in the winning effort.

"It was a great way to start the tournament," coach Matt Strophy said. "We played a solid all-around game and took better care of the ball (than last week)."

Central Valley 36

Moses Lake 28

Game two on Saturday was a different story for the Chiefs as the team committed two dozen turnovers and lost the game by eight points. Lorea led the offensive attack for Moses Lake as she knocked down 12 points and had three steals. Stevens finished with five points and three boards in the losing effort.

"Twenty four turnovers really hurt us in this one, but the game was a dramatic improvement from last weekend's 44-17 loss," Strophy said. "The girls made some great defensive adjustments, but our offense shot itself in the foot too many times."

Shadle Park 41

Moses Lake 36

The Chiefs battled the Highlanders tooth and nail  in game three of the tournament Saturday, but eventually dropped  the contest  by five points.

Emily Olson was the go to gal for Moses Lake with 11 points, five rebounds, and three blocks. Overland added seven points and Avery Clark had nine rebounds for the Chiefs.

"This was a very intense physical game.  That tends to favor our opponents, but we battled with them the entire time," Strophy said. "I'm proud of our girls for not backing down from the challenge.  I believe this game made us a better team even though we suffered the loss."

Gonzaga Prep 42

Moses Lake 20

Moses Lake dropped its third game in a row Saturday in a lopsided contest against the Bullpups.

"This was another physical game for us, and since we were playing back to back games, it really took a toll on us," Strophy said. "GPrep's intensity forced our tired bodies into 24 turnovers. We can't expect to stay in a game when we're that tired and have that many turnovers."

Olson finished with seven points and Nielsen added six points and five boards in the loss.

East Valley 31

Moses Lake 26

The fourth game of the day saw the Chiefs make big strides, but unfortunately Moses Lake was turned back by the Knights in a five point loss. Emily Olson was high scorer for the Chiefs with 11 points.

"Statistically, not a great game for us," Strophy said.  "This is one that we really thought we should have won, but  20 turnovers hurt, as did missing numerous layins and free throws.  It was our fourth game of the day, but we were hoping to finish on a strong note and that just didn't happen for us."

The loss extended the Chiefs losing streak to four games.

Moses Lake 36

Lake City 34

Moses Lake bounced back with a thrilling two point overtime win against Lake City in the sixth game of the tournament early Sunday morning.

Olson led the offensive attack once again for the Chiefs with 17 points, and hauling in five rebounds. Jessie Loera added six points and three steals, Overland had two points, six  boards and three  steals, and Carina LeFave finished with seven rebounds in the win.

"Emily carried us throughout the game with her timely scoring on offense, but Jessie Loera went coast to coast with under 10 seconds left in regulation to hit a pull-up jumper to tie the game and send it into sudden death overtime," Strophy said. "It's really nerve racking to play sudden death overtime in basketball.  Winning the tip and gaining possession is vital."

Sadie Nielsen went up strong on the jump and tipped the ball to a scrambling Loera who ran it down and got off a shot,.But it was off the mark. Emily Olson corralled the rebound and put up a shot from beyond the arch, but the 3-point attempt was also unsuccessful. However, Lorea got the backside rebound and putback for the game winning basket. 

"We played a solid all-around game.  The girls made great defensive adjustments based on the offenses that Lake City was trying to run," Strophy said. "I am really proud of their intelligent play in this game."

Moses Lake 36

Lakeside 21

The Chiefs made it two in a row with a 15 point win over the Eagles to finish out the tournament Sunday afternoon. Lorea came up big again for Moses Lake finishing with 17 points, four rebounds and three steals. Olson added four points, four rebounds and five steals, and Overland finished with two points, four boards and three steals.

"We struggled in the first half with 10 turnovers and too many missed opportunities on offense, although Jessie kept us in the game with 10 first half points," Strophy said. "The game was tied at halftime, but we came out with a reckless abandon in the second half to run away with the victory.'

The back to back wins Sunday, Strophy said, was a great way to end the tournament.

"Although we finished 3-4 for the weekend, we feel really good about the progress and improvements that we are making, both individually and as a team. Next weekend (June 15-16) we head down to the Walla Walla Invitational."