Chiefs shine at Gonzaga camp

SPOKANE - The Moses Lake High School girls basketball team improved its summer league record to 18-8 with nine wins at the Gonzaga team camp June 23-26. The Chiefs beat Shorewood 38-21 Saturday, Mt. Vernon 59-25, Caldwell, Idaho 31-17,  and Kentlake 33-22 Sunday. On Monday they turned back Timberline 26-11, Oak Harbor  37-11,  and Nampa (Idaho) 40-20,  then beat Liberty 38-17, and Fairfield, Mont. 36-30 Tuesday.

Their only blemish came against Stevens in a hard fought 50-44 loss Monday night.

"We played 10 games in less than 70 hours," coach Matt Strophy said. "The girls were physically tired over the four days, but their mental toughness propelled them to nine victories."

 Strophy said the team played outstanding ball in Spokane and was happy with the way things went on both sides of the ball.

"Offensively we shared the ball and the scoring load ... didn't rely on just one or two people to carry us through ... and took care of the ball, averaging only 10.5 turnovers per game," he said. "Defensively, I felt like we dominated every game  with the exception of Lake Stevens  who has been to six state tournaments in the last seven seasons.  We had great ball pressure with help positioning, and did a great job rebounding the ball.  We gave up only 22.5 points per game, and if you take out the Lake Stevens loss, we gave up an average of only 19.5 points per game."

Several Chiefs had a good outing at Gonzaga, but it was Emily Olson who  led the charge for Moses Lake   with 46 points and 39 rebounds. Jessie Lorea  added 55 points, 16 boards, 11 steals and 13 assists, and Sadie Nielsen finished 37 points and six rebounds at the four-day camp.

The Chiefs are taking a much needed rest this week, but will be back on the hardwood July 2 for three practices before they finish the summer league at the Camp Classic in Liberty Lake July 5-7.