MLHS girls fall to Emerald Ridge in state tournament

TACOMA — The Moses Lake High School girls basketball team took on its first matchup of the WIAA 4A state tournament on Wednesday morning against Emerald Ridge at the Tacoma Dome. Moses Lake lost 34-44.

Going into the game, Moses Lake was ranked No. 14 and Emerald Ridge, No. 6.

Starters for the Moses Lake Chiefs included junior Sydney Macdonald, junior Marissa Bischoff, sophomore Lexi Cox, senior Teagan Wiltbank and senior Meagan Karstetter.

Very quickly it was apparent the two teams would have a close game. Throughout the first quarter, the teams tied several times until Emerald Ridge was able to pull a small lead over the Chiefs.

The Chiefs got possession from the tip-off but that was quickly overturned by Emerald Ridge who then made the first layup with 7:30 left on the clock. Wiltbank got the Chiefs on the board with a layup at just over 6 minutes left.

Emerald Ridge played tough defense, like Moses Lake head coach Matt Strophy had anticipated, sticking to the Chiefs like glue.

Moses Lake did a great job of staying out of foul trouble, in fact, Moses Lake did not receive their first foul until 1:42 left in the first quarter.

At the end of the first quarter, Moses Lake was behind 9-13 and had only one foul compared to Emerald Ridge’s four.

Emerald Ridge started off quarter two with the ball. Moses Lake struggled to get baskets in, especially against Emerald Ridge’s tough defense. Moses Lake was able to keep the deficit to four points as they finished the first half. Emerald Ridge led 22-18.

Third quarter, Emerald Ridge continued their pressing and was able to widen their lead as Moses Lake continued to struggle to get the ball to the basket. The end of the third quarter saw the Chiefs at 23, Emerald Ridge 32.

Going into the fourth quarter, the Chiefs had a lot of work to do if they wanted to win it. As they battled, they managed to keep Emerald Ridge’s lead to 10 or less even to the end. Despite not ever taking the lead, Moses Lake didn’t back down and made sure Emerald Ridge had to earn their victory.

With 47 seconds left in the game, Strophy put in the rest of his substitute players. As the starters came off the floor, they knew it was over and got really emotional, hugging their coaches and teammates as they made their way to their spot on the bench.

The Chiefs lost 34-44, ending their season and state run.

Wiltbank led the Chiefs with 14 points, Cox followed behind with 9, Karstetter had 7 and Macdonald and senior Ella Heaps each had two.

“We just didn't shoot the ball well. We couldn't finish and here at the state tournament, everything gets more physical. And that's not necessarily our best basketball when things are physical. And so that's something for us to kind of work on,” Strophy said after the game. “We have a lot of girls returning next year. So there are 10 girls in that locker room that are coming back next year. So they can learn from that experience but I couldn't be more proud of the effort; we battled defensively and we played strong offensively and just couldn't get that ball to fall (into the basket). I'm proud of our senior leadership: Meagan Karstetter, Teagan Wiltbank and Ella Heaps. They continued the tradition that we've established as our 10th trip to the state tournament (in the last 15 years). So they should feel proud that they were able to continue the tradition and leave their mark on the Moses Lake girls basketball legacy.”

Strophy talked about the consistency of Moses Lake girls basketball to participate in the state tournament over the last 10 to 15 years and felt that it has become an expectation.

“That's the beauty of what we've been able to establish here and a culture we've established here at Moses Lake for girls basketball that we plan to continue, and that's the expectation we do,” said Strophy.

Three of the five Columbia Basin teams that punched their ticket to state played Wednesday, as two teams were automatically seeded to Thursday. The three that played Wednesday were Warden High School girls, Moses Lake High School girls and Quincy High School boys. Mose Lake lost to Emerald Ridge 34-44 and is out of the competition. Warden girls beat Wahkiakum 55-40 and Quincy boys beat Blaine 69-51. Both are moving on to the next day in the competition.

Box score:

Moses Lake - 9 9 5 11- 34

Emerald Ridge - 13 9 10 12 - 44