Tigers fall at home to Ellensburg, 68-29
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Payton Hagy fires the shot from deep for the Tigers. Hagy led the Tigers in scoring in the defeat.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Ephrata’s Jordan Clark drives to the basket in the first half against Ellensburg at home on Firday night.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Alanna Elliot goes up for the layup for the Tigers in the first half of Ephrata’s loss to Ellensburg on Friday.
Ellensburg players trap the Ephrata player in the corner. The Bulldogs were able to continually force turnovers in their win over the Tigers on Friday.
EPHRATA — Ephrata girls basketball fell at home to the top team in the conference in Ellensburg, 68-29.
The Tigers were able to jump out to an early lead at the end of the first at 14-10, making the most of their opportunities. Turnovers were an issue in the quarter, and plagued Ephrata all game.
The Bulldogs came out firing on all cylinders in the second quarter, on both ends of the floor. Ellensburg went on a 17-0 run before the Tigers scored again, outscoring their opponent by a margin of 19-2 in the quarter. Ephrata went into the locker room down 13, with the score at 29-16.
Missed free throws were costly for the Tigers, especially as the visiting team pulled away to end the first half. Ephrata was able to hang more closely with the Bulldogs in the third quarter, but a continued flurry of turnovers by the Tigers and an efficient inside, out approach by Ellensburg helped widen the lead.
Down 20 heading into the final eight minutes, the Tigers were no match as time winded down. Ellensburg outscored Ephrata 23-4 to end the game and remain unbeaten early in the season.
Junior Payton Hagy led the Tigers in scoring with 11 points in the loss.
Ephrata head coach Dale Hagy said after the game his team had trouble matching up with their size, calling the Bulldogs “super-athletic.”
“They have a ton of kids that spend a ton of time playing basketball,” Hagy said. “They’ve got some really good skills, and it shows. We can play with them, but we’ve gotta play one of our best games.”
Turnovers were costly, with Ephrata committing 30 in the defeat on Friday night. Using a trap up top, the Bulldogs made things difficult on the Tiger guards, Hagy said.
Ellensburg is a team the Tigers head coach expects to be right at the top of the Central Washington Athletic Conference near the end of the season, and is a team Hagy believes has a real shot at a deep run in the postseason.
“They’re smart, they’re well coached, they’re good kids,” Hagy said. “I like playing them because they compete, and they’re very nice when they beat ya.”
As the Tigers head into the holiday break, Hagy said the main focus for improvement is discipline.
“We made too many mistakes,” he said. “I have one returning starter, that’s where I’m at. If we’re a little more disciplined, if we hold a screen a little bit longer, if we help out on defense and try and do those little things. They’re still fighting nerves trying to get comfortable.”
Next up for the Tigers is a game tomorrow against East Valley at 3:30 p.m. before Ephrata is off until a Friday night bout against Quincy on Jan. 3.
