Lady Lions turn back Shockers Friday, play again tonight

MOSES LAKE - It was a battle of the unbeaten in Central Washington 1B conference play as North Division leader Waterville took on South Division leader Moses Lake Christian Academy (MLCA) Friday.

And after the final whistle had blown, the Lady Lions proved to be the better team as they soundly defeated the Shockers 54-33 in front of a frenzied MLCA crowd.

"Waterville came in undefeated in league and has been playing much better the past several weeks. They're a team with a lot of size and good athleticism, and we were concerned about how our kids would deal with that," coach Bryce McPartland said. "We had strong ball movement against them and Madison (Yamane) and Dani (Sandberg) in particular made multiple nice plays making Waterville pay for some slow shifts from their zone."

The Lions gave Waterville all it could handle as the team raced out to an 18-5 lead after the first quarter of play, and took a 34-15 lead into the locker room at the half. The Shocker nearly matched MLCA point-for-point (20-18) in the second half of action, but failed to make up the large first half deficit.

"Getting out on Waterville early was important," McPartland said. "We thought if we could get to them early, we might take their enthusiasm for this game away a bit."

The plan worked to perfection as the Lions dispatched the Shockers relatively easy.

Anna Yarbro led the attack for MLCA with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 4 steals. Sandberg added 15 points, 7 boards and 2 assists, and Yamane finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

"Anna, Dani and Madison really ran the show well for us," McPartland said. "The girls are starting to play much better together ... more than looking to just run plays. That's important if we are going to make any sort of run this postseason."

The Lions held the Shockers to 28 percent shooting from the floor, out rebounded Waterville 34-24, and made 18 more trips to the charity line.

Elaina Thompson was high scorer for the Shockers with 12 points.

MLCA is back in action tonight when the team travels to Cascade Christian Academy to take on the Wolverines.