MLHS girls suffer loss after late rally by Sunnyside

MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake Mavericks (4-18) were defeated 46-40 by the Sunnyside Grizzlies at home in a competitive game that went down to the wire. Head coach Matt Strophy was proud of his team’s effort Friday.   

“I'll never fault them for their effort,” he said. “We just had that lull in the offense. We had that four-point lead and, and we just couldn't stop them from scoring, and we couldn't get a bucket.”  

The Mavs went back and forth with Sunnyside in the first half. As they continued to make hustle plays throughout, their defense held the Grizzlies to four points in the second quarter to take the lead by halftime. Moses Lake remained competitive throughout the second half, but a late run in the fourth quarter pushed Sunnyside over the hump to squeeze out the win.   

“I think all of our gameplan went pretty well,” Strophy said. “They made some adjustments on some play calls that caught us off guard and got a bucket out of it, but I was super pleased with our gameplan and the execution of it. What really killed us at the end was their ability to just penetrate against us, and when we tried to rotate over, we weren't there in time. They got to the free-throw line, and that hurt (us).”   

Sunnyside pushed the pace in the first quarter, as they took the lead early. However, the Mavericks were able to keep up with rebounding, forcing turnovers and taking shots. Heading into the second quarter, they trailed 15-11.   

In the second, the Mavs defense slowed Sunnyside’s offense down as they shifted the momentum in their favor. Heading into halftime, Ella Wiltbank, Breanna Bischoff, Alivia Johnson and Reese Char helped Moses Lake outscore the Grizzlies 11-4 to take a 22-19.   

The Mavericks started the third quarter strong with a three-pointer by Wiltbank to build their lead to 26-21. Throughout the same quarter, MLHS remained aggressive on defense and capitalizing off the Grizzlies errors. Heading into the fourth quarter, the Mavs led 31-27 over Sunnyside.   

In the fourth, Sunnyside shifted the momentum back in their favor as they got aggressive on defense and forced errors on the Mavs. This helped them inch their way back into the game and retook the lead 38-33. In the final minutes, MLHS remained competitive, but time was running out. With under 20 seconds left in the game, Addisyn Reffett forced a turnover and laid it in the basket to make it 40-42.   

“That was awesome, and again, I can never fault the girls for their efforts,” Strophy said.   

A pair of free throws by Sunnyside sealed the win for the Grizzlies. Despite the loss, Strophy remained proud of his team and their willingness to leave it all out on the court.   

With one more opportunity to make the district tournament, the Mavericks also played Wenatchee on Saturday. There, they suffered a competitive 37-34 loss at home. With their season wrapped up, Strophy and the Mavericks program bid a bittersweet farewell to seniors Addyson Burns, Reffett and Johnson.  

“They are really good leaders,” the coach said. “They're nice, but they're demanding, and they lead by example, and so the younger girls see what they accomplish in our program, and that's something to emulate. For me, personally, they mean the world to me. They are such great kids, and they come from such great families.”  

As they close this final chapter of their basketball journey at MLHS, Strophy said he believes they will carry many lessons with them into their futures. One of which, they approached the game as something bigger than themselves.   

“I think those girls have emulated that really well, where it's not about me, whether I play, whether I score, it's about how well we do and how much fun we have doing it and then becoming better people with each other along the way. I think they do a really good job showing the younger girls that's what we do here,” Strophy said.   

BOX SCORE:  

SNNY: 15-4-8-19: 46
MLHS: 11-11-9-9: 40  

    The Mavs’ Yaretzi Madrigal (20) shoots a free throw against Sunnyside Friday.
  

    Alivia Johnson (34) passes the ball to a teammate against Sunnyside Friday.