Central Valley girls outlast Moses Lake in battle of top teams

The WIAA state basketball draw head-scratcher?

Undefeated and No. 1 Central Valley girls taking on unbeaten and second-ranked Moses Lake in the Class 4A state quarterfinals Thursday afternoon in the Tacoma Dome.

As expected, games normally reserved for championship Saturday usually play out closely earlier in the tournament.

And the Bears’ decisive push in the final three minutes pulled out a hard-fought 47-39 victory.

Sophomore Lexie Hull had a double-double – 18 points, 15 rebounds – as the game’s top scorer. Hailey Christopher added 12 points for the Greater Spokane League champions, who are now 26-0.

Jamie Loera led the Chiefs (23-1) with 14 points. Older sister and Gonzaga-bound sister Jessie Loera struggled, however – eight points on 3-of-15 shooting with seven turnovers.

“They have three long kids (on defense) who are really, really good,” Moses Lake coach Matt Strophy said.

This matchup pitted experienced, state-tested guards in the Loeras against a Central Valley starting group of three sophomores, including the Hull sisters (Lexie, Lacie), and two ninth graders.

The Bears were thought to be building the state’s next great large-school dynasty with their young nucleus.

Maybe it will come sooner than later.

“Don’t wake me up – I am just fine,” Bears coach Freddie Rehkow said.

The game’s biggest play won’t be one that shows up on the stat sheet. It was a hustle play from Lexie Hull.

Losing her balance on a rebound, she easily could have turned it back over to the Chiefs. Instead she somehow got enough of her hand on the basketball to tip it to her sister out in transition.

Taking on two Moses Lake defenders, Lacie Hull converted a tough layin to tie the game at 36-36 with 2:50 to go.

“It got us going,” Lexie Hull said.

Moses Lake, which lost in the 4A semifinals in each of the past two season, just never found its shooting touch. It made five of 25 field goal attempts in the second half – 2-of-14 in the third quarter.

The Bears made all six free throws during their final 13-3 run.

“It was a knockdown, drag-out, possession-by-possession type of game,” Strophy said. “We like to play a little bit faster, and occasionally we were able to do that. We should still be able to execute (in the halfcourt).

“All credit to Central Valley – … It is a tough draw, but once we got over the initial shock of No. 1 versus No. 2, we figured we’d have to beat them at some point.”

This story was originally published March 3, 2016 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Central Valley girls outlast Moses Lake in battle of top teams."