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MOSES LAKE — The last practice in the Chiefs’ gym wasn’t the somber type.

Quite the opposite, actually.

The seniors erupted in celebration after an Alexya Sandmann 3-pointer gave them the edge in the final drill and Morgan Yamane banked in a half-court shot to cap an enjoyable last day before the team’s trip to Tacoma.

“I’m sad, of course, but I’m ending it at the Dome so it’s kind of a better feeling than just ending the season somewhere else,” senior captain Jessica Olson said. “I can look forward to being there and ending my season there.”

In January it was unclear where Moses Lake’s season would end. Coming off a 45-43 loss to Davis in Yakima, the Chiefs were 6-3 in their last nine games and had not quite meshed as a unit.

“We needed to do a little bit of soul searching because there were things that we saw in that film that we didn’t necessarily like to see and so we needed to address those things,” head coach Matt Strophy said. “We addressed them with everybody and I think sometimes people say a loss is good... Having a loss in there somewhere to kind of right your ship is a good thing.”

The change was felt immediately.

Moses Lake allowed a season-low 10 points against Eisenhower, then beat top-ranked Bothell and undefeated Sunnyside in consecutive games.

Next, the Chiefs won by double digits in their final four regular season games, thumped Wenatchee 58-36 in the district semifinals to lock down a fourth consecutive trip to the Tacoma Dome and stifled the Maldonado sisters to win a district championship at Sunnyside 59-46.

Not too shabby.

“I think we’ve been played well since that (Davis) game,” Olson said.

That spike in productivity has come from the increased comfort level of the role players. Whether it’s Sandmann, Yamane, Maggie Strom, Ellie Mayo, Taylor Stevens or Charity Talo; everybody has found a way to contribute over the last 10 games.

“I think our depth is going to be vital as we go through the state tournament,” Strophy said. “The girls have our faith and they have faith in each other when it’s their turn. We have the expectation they’re going to be able to step up and contribute.”

More, point guard Jamie Loera has flourished during the second half of the season. A career-high 28 points in the district championship game was followed by a 25-point effort against Kentridge.

The latest Loera to lead her team to the state tournament has grown into the job of full-time point guard as the season progressed, now able to control the ebb and flow of a game more thoroughly.

“She has become much more of a voluntary distributor,” Strophy said. “Not that she didn’t do those things before, but it was more of, I think, a conscious effort on her part to realize I can’t do it by myself, you can’t do it by yourself, we all have to do it together and there is much more of a team mindset.”