Tiger girls show second-half spark in tough weekend
EPHRATA — Ephrata girls basketball faced a tough slate of games over the weekend, falling to West Valley Spokane 46-33 on Friday and Prosser 95-31 on Saturday.
Prosser enters the week ranked third in the state, while West Valley Spokane earned an honorable mention in VarsityWA's statewide Class 2A top 15. It was a tough draw for a young Ephrata team still learning to play together.
vs. Prosser
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ephrata | 7 | 8 | 5 | 11 | 31 |
| Prosser | 32 | 21 | 28 | 14 | 95 |
EPHRATA — The Mustangs came into town on the heels of a milestone win during their 99-14 blowout at Quincy, when junior Herbie Wright and senior Deidra Phillips each hit 1,000 career points in the matchup.
They didn't slow down Saturday, with the duo combining for 39 points – Wright with 24, Phillips with 15 – as Prosser rolled to a 95-31 win over Ephrata in the Tigers' Central Washington Athletic Conference opener.
The visitors jumped out to a 32-7 first-quarter lead and never let off the gas. But the Lady Tigers did find some momentum in the fourth quarter, matching Prosser nearly bucket for bucket to end the game.
Cassidy Cox and Maycee Black each netted eight points to lead Ephrata's scorers. Molitor added six points, while Hannah Malone dished out a team-high three assists.
It's a busy week ahead, too. With no rest for the weary, Ephrata (0-4, 0-1 CWAC) travels to 10th-ranked Grandview on Tuesday, hosts Quincy on Friday, then visits sixth-ranked Selah on Saturday.
But head coach Alain Black isn't fazed.
"We try to take one day at a time and work to get better each day," Black said. "The best part about those teams being ranked is all the pressure is on them, not us."
| Player | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cox | 3-4 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 |
| M. Black | 2-6 | 0-0 | 4-4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 |
| Molitor | 2-8 | 1-3 | 1-2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Linehan | 1-4 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Falconer | 1-1 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| St. Mary | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Malone | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Kono | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Valle | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Springs | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 10-25 | 3-6 | 8-11 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 31 |
vs. West Valley
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ephrata | 7 | 0 | 16 | 10 | 33 |
| West Valley (Spokane) | 12 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 46 |
SPOKANE — The return of sophomore Jill Linehan gave Ephrata a spark. Back on the court after missing two games, Linehan led the Tigers with 13 points on two three-pointers and a 3-for-4 night at the free throw line in the 46-33 loss to West Valley.
"(Jill) brought a different energy to the court that we have been missing," Black said. "She was hitting shots, pushing the ball and having fun. It was great to have her back."
Ephrata fell behind 25-7 at halftime after a scoreless second quarter but returned from the locker room with its best half of the season. The Tigers outscored West Valley 26-21 after the break, winning the third quarter 16-11 and playing the Eagles even in the fourth with 10 points for each team.
"Our halftime talk focused on that it wasn't West Valley beating us — it was us needing to take care of the ball," Black said. "We kicked up our defensive pressure and pushed the ball offensively. The girls started to run and create out of fast breaks, which led to points. I saw a team that was having fun playing with lots of energy."
Other leading contributors for Ephrata included Maycee Black, who grabbed 10 rebounds and netted seven points, while Molitor chipped in six points and three steals.
| Player | FG | 3PT | FT | REB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linehan | 4-11 | 2-5 | 3-4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| M. Black | 1-4 | 0-0 | 5-8 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Molitor | 2-10 | 0-3 | 2-2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Malone | 1-4 | 1-3 | 1-1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Kono | 1-2 | 0-0 | 1-4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| St. Mary | 0-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| Falconer | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| Cox | 0-3 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Valle | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Springs | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | 9-38 | 3-16 | 12-19 | 23 | 6 | 9 | 33 |
CWAC Girls Scoreboard
Tuesday, Dec. 10: Grandview 53, Sunnyside 39 | Toppenish 64, Pasco 48 | Ellensburg 62, Eastmont 19
Friday, Dec. 12: Prosser 99, Quincy 14 | Toppenish 67, Othello 17 | Selah 50, Grandview 46 | Ellensburg 66, East Valley Yakima 27 | West Valley Spokane 46, Ephrata 33
Saturday, Dec. 13: Prosser 95, Ephrata 31 | Selah 59, East Valley Yakima 14 | Ellensburg 67, Toppenish 44 | Grandview 71, Quincy 28 | Othello 50, Tri-Cities Prep 46
