PASCO, Wash. — The No. 5 Moses Lake girls basketball team couldn’t rectify a Jan. 9 home loss to No. 3 Pasco when the Chiefs fell 59-52 to the Bulldogs Friday night in Pasco, Wash.

The Chiefs fell behind 19-12 after the first quarter before Moses Lake responded in the second quarter to erase the seven-point deficit and take a 29-26 lead late in the first half.

Moses Lake seemed destined to take the lead into the break before the Bulldogs scored the final four points of the quarter in the half’s closing seconds as the hometown Bulldogs took a 30-29 lead into the break.

Moses Lake head coach Matt Strophy said Friday night’s game with Pasco was about momentum.

“It was a game of runs and their runs were a little bit bigger than ours,” he said.

Despite battling to erase an early deficit to Pasco, Moses Lake struggled in the third quarter.

Pasco kept the Moses Lake offense off-balance and the Bulldogs opened the second half on a 13-0 run to take a 43-29 lead over their rivals from Moses Lake.

Strophy said his team shot the ball well Friday night, except during the third quarter.

“We shot the ball well for three quarters,” he said. “It was the third quarter when we went 1-for-13 that kind of hurt us.”

A tough Pasco defense held the Chiefs to only 1-for-13 shooting in the third quarter and the Columbia Basin Big Nine’s Columbia Division leading Bulldogs tried to bury the Chiefs by outscoring Moses Lake 14-3 in the third quarter for a 44-32 lead heading into the game’s final quarter.

Pasco’s defense was tough all night as the Bulldogs forced 19 Moses Lake turnovers, Strophy said.

“They scored 24 points off of our 19 turnovers,” he said. “We scored six points on nine Pasco turnovers. That is an 18-point swing.”

Moses Lake battled back in the fourth quarter to transform a 12-point deficit at the start of the quarter into a 55-50 deficit with just over a minute remaining. 

With the Chiefs threatening to close the gap late, the conference leading Bulldogs stood their ground. Pasco eventually staved off the Moses Lake rally and the Bulldogs remained undefeated with the 59-52 victory.

Strophy said his team’s free throw shooting hurt them in Friday night’s loss to Pasco.

“It boils down to our free-throw shooting,” he said. “We were 11-for-20 from the line.”

Moses Lake sophomore Jordan Loera led the Chiefs in scoring with 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to record the double-double. Senior Carly Noyes added 15 points, recorded six rebounds and blocked two Pasco shots.

The Chiefs were tough on the glass Friday night, winning the rebound battle over Pasco 35-29.

Despite the season sweep to Pasco, Strophy said his team is not deterred.

“We did have an initial goal to win league,” he said. “We still have other goals that we set out for. Last year we beat Pasco twice and they beat us in districts, so who knows? Our season is not even close to being over.”

Moses Lake returns to the court Friday night for senior night and to conclude Moses Lake High School’s cancer awareness week when they host the Southridge Suns at Moses Lake High School at 7:30 p.m.

Both Moses Lake and Southridge will wear pink socks for breast cancer awareness and Strophy encourages Chiefs fans in attendance to wear pink as well.

“We look to encourage our fans to continue their support for us and for breast cancer awareness,” he said.