Mavs take down Eisenhower in Big 9 tourney
Moses Lake senior Marissa Bischoff, left, moves the ball up the floor against West Valley (Yakima) in the first round of the Columbia Basin Big 9 district tournament. Head Coach Matt Strophy credited Bischoff and teammate Lexi Cox for their defensive play in the Mav’s 47-45 win over Eisenhower on Thursday.
Ian Bivona
Moses Lake junior Kendall Reffett grabs a rebound against Sunnyside on Jan. 27. The Mavericks moved on to face the Grizzlies on Saturday with a berth to state on the line.
YAKIMA – Following Tuesday’s 42-33 win over West Valley (Yakima), the Mavericks continued their stout defensive play in their 47-45 win over Eisenhower in the second round of the Columbia Basin Big 9 district tournament.
“It was a complete team effort, for sure,” Moses Lake Head Coach Matt Strophy said. “And it really started on that defensive end, making it tough for them to score.”
The Mavericks held Eisenhower scoreless until the final 20 seconds in the first quarter, then later took a 27-15 lead into the halftime locker room. Strophy credited senior Marissa Bischoff and junior Lexi Cox for their defensive play in limiting two of Eisenhower’s key players. Cox also led the Mavs with 12 points.
“Marissa Bischoff shut down their point guard (Neveah Lopez), held her to seven points,” Strophy said. “Lexi Cox held Mary Jones – who’d scored 31 and 30 the previous two games – she held her to two (points).”
Defense is where Moses Lake has “been hanging its hat” as of late according to Strophy. Since the middle of January, seven of the Mav’s previous nine opponents have been held to 45 points or less.
“Davis was the exception where they beat us by 12, but we had scored (close to) a season-high,” Strophy said. “We had been doing pretty well in the month of January keeping teams right around that 40 (point) mark.”
The win moved Moses Lake into the final round of the Big 9 tournament, a road game against No. 2 seed Sunnyside with a berth to state on the line. The Grizzlies won both matchups against the Mavericks this season, with the most recent contest being a 43-41 win on Jan. 27. Moses Lake held a three-point lead late in the game before Sunnyside won on a last-second layup.
“I think it will come down to two things; that defensive effort – and we had shown it against Sunnyside in that last game holding them to 43 points – and then the second key for us is taking care of the ball and limiting our turnovers against a pressure defense like Sunnyside.”
Results for Moses Lake’s matchup against Sunnyside on Saturday were not available prior to press deadline, but will be updated online at www.columbiabasinherald.com.
“It feels really good, this is where we expected to be,” Strophy said. “Inside this top-three area with Sunnyside and Davis, and it was going to be us and Sunnyside clubbing it out for that second spot.”
Ian Bivona can be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.
