Stating their case
Moses Lake sophomore guard Jessie Loera (15) throws a pass between two Kentridge defenders during the Chief's regional playoff game. Loera finished with 14 points and Moses Lake won, 61-40.
Junior guard McKenna Walker (20) attempts a lay up against a Kentridge defender. Walker also scored 14 points against the Chargers.
TACOMA — For Moses Lake girls basketball, just an appearance in the state tournament isn’t enough.
Fresh off a 61-40 win over Kentridge in the regional playoffs, the Chiefs will face No. 8 Arlington in round one.
Arlington was the state runner-up a season ago, but barely reached the state tournament this year after it took a 35-33 overtime win against Todd Beamer for the team to advance.
Despite the Eagles being the only team in the 4A regionals to not win their match up by more than 10 points, head coach Matt Strophy is not taking them lightly.
As soon as the state tournament draw was announced Sunday Moses Lake began game planning.
“We’ve been working hard,” Strophy said. “We were at the high school when the draw came out we watched it on the internet and then as soon as we got our draw we shifted our energy to the internet and started doing some research on them.”
Moses Lake was able to find film of last year’s state championship as well as footage from three of Arlington’s games this season.
The team spent six hours studying the Eagles and was aided by Mother Nature the following Monday when icy conditions closed school, allowing more time for preparation.
Strophy and his staff were surprised at how versatile the Eagles were and compared their first round opponent to a couple teams the Chiefs are extremely familiar with.
“Out of the three different films from this year that we’ve watched they’re different in all three films,” he said. “They have some main kind of core things that they do ... They do like to get the ball inside to those six-footers. Their guards are all solid ball handling guards. Honestly, if I could liken them to somebody their post play could be similar to Wenatchee’s, their guard play could be similar to Sunnyside’s.”
Strophy thought that Arlington may have the edge inside with its size, but felt his back court, comprised of sophomore Jessie Loera and junior McKenna Walker, would have a clear advantage on the perimeter.
Loera and Walker have been part of a drastic turnaround for the Moses Lake girls basketball the past two seasons.
Just two years ago, the Chiefs plodded through a 3-18 campaign.
Now, the Chiefs are one of the eight best schools in Washington.
Strophy wasn’t surprised his team was able to rebound so quickly. Just maybe how well the team has ended up.
“Yes and no,” Strophy said. “Yes because we incorporated Jessie Loera into the mix as well as McKenna Walker so we expected a quick turn-around from 3-18. Did we expect to see the round of eight? I don’t know, everybody sets that goal. So, do I think it was a realistic goal for us? Yes because of the way our league is structured and the way the state structured their regional and state tournament. So yes, we all thought it was realistic.”
Loera has brought a feistiness to Moses Lake that has been contagious throughout the roster. The reigning Columbia Basin Big Nine defensive player of the year has frustrated opposing guards all season and has brought unbridled intensity as the team’s floor general.
“That’s the go get ‘em kind of attitude that I think all the girls have,” Strophy said. “They want to get after all the rebounds and all the loose balls and they know that every possession is important.”
Despite being on the opposite side of the bracket as No. 1 Lynwood and No. 2 Gonzaga Prep, Strophy knows when you get to this point in the season no match up is ideal.
However, he did concede that Arlington and Inglemoor, two teams on Moses Lake’s side of the bracket, matched up well with the Chiefs.
“When you get to this point I don’t think there’s anybody that you want to face,” Strophy said. “Do I think that they were one of the better match ups? Kentwood and Arlington and then I also think Inglemoor would’ve been the best match up.”
Moses Lake’s disadvantage will be experience.
No player on the Chiefs has any state tournament experience, with the school’s last appearance coming in the 2009-2010 season.
But Strophy trusts his group will be able to compartmentalize everything that comes with playing at the Tacoma Dome and focus on their opponent.
“These girls are pretty down to Earth girls,” he said. “One of the things we kind of use as a program mantra is, ‘With tradition comes responsibility’ ... We’ve built a pretty solid tradition of girls basket-ball in Moses Lake over the last 12 years. So the expectation is you come in and you work hard and you live up to the expectations that were provided before you.”
With its bigger cities more publicized programs, western Washington often times feels like it has a sense of superiority over the east side of the state.
The Chiefs will hope to introduce those west of the Cascade Range to Moses Lake’s brand of basketball.
“The key factor for us is jumping out right at the get go of the game and set the tone that we’re there to do some damage and earn some respect from the east side teams,” Strophy said.