Chiefs girls win Districts over Sunnyside, 60-44

MOSES LAKE — The nets came down Saturday afternoon at Moses Lake High School after the Chiefs girls basketball team defeated Sunnyside High School 60-44 in the District Championship. Moses Lake finished the season at 6-0 against league opponents, dropping just one game all year.

Moses Lake jumped out in front early, leading 22-7 by the end of the first quarter. The Chiefs remained efficient on both ends of the floor in the second to take a 35-14 advantage.

Sunnnyside outscored Moses Lake 15-12 in the third, taking a small bite out of the Chiefs’ lead, but Moses Lake still went into the fourth quarter ahead 47-29. Moses Lake held onto a double-digit lead for the final eight minutes.

Olivia Waites finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal. Meagan Karstetter racked up 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. Anna Olson had nine points, four assists, two rebounds and a block. Senior Olivia Mayo finished with eight points, two steals, two assists, two rebounds and a block.

After players and coaches cut down the nets to celebrate the win, Moses Lake seniors Olivia Waites and Anna Olson discussed wrapping up their senior year with one last win.

Waites said the past few weeks have been kind of bittersweet.

“It’s been really busy and kind of hard to focus on practice because we’re going into summer, we’re all excited and finishing up school, but we just really had to dial in and focus and bring ourselves together and get it done together,” Waites said.

Waites said it would have been amazing to get another shot at playing in the 4A State Tournament at the Tacoma Dome, but added she’s learned this year to make the most of bad situations and remain prepared for whatever comes.

Anna Olson said it was a little strange coming back to MLHS after graduating a week before, but she knew she had a goal in mind.

“I love these girls, I’ve played with them since third grade so I knew we wanted this championship win,” Olson said.

Moses Lake head coach Matt Strophy said he talked to his team about the development they’ve shown as a group. Even in a shortened year, he said, the growth was substantial and he felt his team may have played its best half of basketball all year in the first half of Saturday’s game.

“It’s disappointing we don’t get the Tacoma Dome because I think this team is good enough to get us back there, but the least we can do is cut down our own nets and send our seniors off going undefeated in the league,” Strophy said.

He said the “T-shirt quote” all season has been “resilient in the face of adversity.” When players join the Moses Lake program, he said, they know they’re joining a family that’s going to work hard and celebrate together.

Strophy said his senior captains Mayo and Olson did an excellent job as “mother figures” for the program.

“They both have older siblings that have played for the program so they have a deeper understanding and appreciation and knowledge of what we’re trying to do because not everyone uses this to get a college scholarship or to become a professional,” Strophy said. “They use this to become a better person and they’re a perfect example of that and they set the tone for our other seniors.”