MOSES LAKE - The Moses Lake Christian Academy girls basketball team has it's work cut out if they expect to repeat as the North Central Washington 1B District 6 Champions.

Gone are the likes of First Team All-NCW 1B selection senior Melissa Verhage, and Second Team All-NCW 1B player senior Kristina Firouzi, who led the Lions to a 10-0 league record and 20-5 overall.

"Our players have a tremendous upside. But ... young as they are ... will have a big learning curve." coach Bryce McPartland said. "We expect them to make a ton of plays with their athleticism, and a ton of mistakes with their youth. However, I do expect us to defend our district championship and make a run toward Spokane."

Senior Abby Garrett, junior Madison Yamane and freshman McKenna Walker will be counted on to lead the Lions attack.

"Abby maybe the best defender in the league, McPartland said. "Madison will help hold down the front court and McKenna, who averaged just over 12 points last season, has put in a lot of work in the off season."

The team also gained a lot of experience over the summer, playing in more than 40 games, not including several 3-on-3 tournaments and AAU games.

As to how the team will stack up to is competition this year, McPartland said, foes outside the conference will present the biggest challenge.

"Our non-league schedule is very tough," he said. "Four of the our first seven games will be against state participants ... St. John-Endicott, Almira/Coulee-Hartline, who finished second, Odessa-Harrington, and Sunnyside Christian, who finished fifth.

McPartland said the Lions will also face a number of tough 1A and 2B teams, but really has know idea what the competition will be like from teams in the North Central Washington conference.

"The games against the bigger schools mean we're playing up a bit," he said. "As far as league games go, we didn't see anyone out this summer, so we don't know what to expect from league members."

MLCA hosts St. John/Endicott Friday at 6 p.m.