Mavs girls show grit in home loss

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks girls squad (4-16) suffered a 54-34 loss at home to the Eastmont Wildcats. Despite the loss, the players never waned in their effort on the court, head coach Matt Strophy said.   

“We just never really could get things going the way we wanted to against Eastmont,” he said. “I haven't been disappointed with our girls and the effort that they put in and the improvements they're making. Just sometimes other players are better... right now that just seems to be happening to us.”  

The Mavericks were competitive in the first half, limiting Eastmont to single digits in the first two quarters. By halftime, Eastmont led 21-16, with MLHS knocking on the door. However, in the third quarter, the Wildcats made some adjustments that presented new challenges for MLHS, which allowed them to outscore the Mavs 20-13 and build their lead. In the fourth, Moses Lake was held to five points as Eastmont sealed the win.   

“We've gotten in a habit of digging ourselves into a little bit of a hole, but we've been able to battle back and make a game out of things, but Eastmont was just a little different this time,” Strophy said. “We got a little bit too deep and it just kind of stayed there. We weren't able to make anything happen, and I have to credit Eastmont for that.”  

The Lady Mavs seemingly foreshadowed a competitive game in the first quarter, but by the end of it, they were only down 14-9. Reese Char scored six points while Ella Wiltbank found a bucket and made a free throw for three points.   

In the second quarter, Yaretzi Madrigal drilled a three-pointer before also scoring another bucket for five points. Tristan Raymond added a score of her own to keep the Mavericks competitive. Defensively, they doubled down to hold Eastmont to seven points total to keep the deficit at five points.   

The Wildcats made a few adjustments during the break that became a challenge for the Mavs to overcome in the third quarter. According to Strophy, they switched a taller player to guard the middle of the floor.  

“They took their six-two girl, and she was at the point of their defense, and they put her in the middle of the defense, and just put an (athletic player) at the top, and it still gave us problems,” he said. “Even though the height wasn't there, the athleticism was, and then if we were able to get by her, we just ran into height, which before we didn't run into the height when we get by, so that really presented a problem for us.”   

While players like Addisyn Reffett, Breanna Bischoff, Char, Wiltbank and Raymond did their best to score, the Wildcats had shifted the momentum in their favor offensively. They ultimately outscored the Mavericks 20-13 to widen the lead to 41-29 by the end of the third quarter.   

Eastmont sealed the win in the fourth quarter with 13 more points added to the final score, 54-34. Despite the loss, Strophy said he is proud of his players for being consistent with their effort and upholding their mantra for the season, which is to be ‘Annoyingly gritty.’  

“We had consistent positive attitudes, even when things aren't going our way. We have to be annoying to the other team. We have to never give up. We have to be gritty and just keep after it, and we've been doing that all year long,” he said.   

The Mavericks will close the regular season at home against Sunnyside on Feb. 13 at 5:30 p.m. They will be looking to finish strong and sneak into the postseason, while also celebrating their seniors in the final home game of the season.   

“It's always an emotional night where you're recognizing those girls that have stuck it out for four years,” Strophy said. “We get a chance to celebrate them and acknowledge their hard work and their effort over the four-year time span they've been with us.”  

BOX SCORE:  

ESMT: 14-7-20-13: 54
MLHS: 9-7-13-5: 34  

    The Mavs’ Breanna ‘Boo’ Bischoff (12) surveys the playing field as she prepares to inbound the ball against Eastmont Friday.
  

    MLHS’s Alivia Johnson (34) boxes out her opponent during their game against Eastmont Friday.
  

    Ella Wiltbank (24) steals the ball from an Eastmont player as she runs up the court during their game Friday.