Chiefs win sixth straight

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake girls basketball has shot up the Columbia Basin Big 9 standings after stringing together four straight league wins and six overall.

The latest pair coming against Eastmont and then first place Davis on the road. The Chiefs are now in a three-way tie for first place with the Pirates and Sunnyside.

Friday night at home, led by junior guard McKenna Walker, the Chiefs blitzed the Wildcats with a 31-8 second half en route to a 66-32 win. Despite the blowout win, head coach Matt Strophy was unhappy with the team's first half play after holding Eastmont to only 10 points for the entire game in the previous meeting Dec. 14.

"Honestly, we didn't play exceptionally well in the first half," he said. "I kind of went into halftime and tried to light a fire under the girls."

Walker scored a game-high 15 points while junior forward Avery Clark added 12.

A fast start and strong shooting from sophomore guard Jessie Loera helped Moses Lake avenge the team's loss to Davis at home earlier in the year.

Moses Lake led by 11 at halftime and cruised to a 69-54 win.

Strophy and his staff added some wrinkles to the Chiefs' game plan to combat Davis' zone defense.

"I thought our girls did a great job executing our game plan," Strophy said. "Our game plan, especially offensively, is to control the tempo."

Moses Lake's revenge tour continues when the team hosts Sunnyside Friday. The Grizzlies stunned Moses Lake 83-71 on Dec. 21.

"Yes, it's a little bit of a revenge game for us at the same time it's about doing the same types of things we did against Davis," Strophy said.