MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake girls bowling head coach Danny Stevenson described Haley Rogers and Kylee Christie as the “glue” of the team.

The pair, consistently two of the highest scorers during matches, try to keep their teammates loose and having fun when competition overshadows what the team is really about — family.

“Honestly, I try not to interfere with a lot of the bowling instruction and how to do certain things because I haven’t bowled as long as Haley,” Christie said. “My role is more of like encouraging them because bowling is a very mind game and you have to make sure you’re not thinking about the last shot and always thinking about what you can do better and so I try to put that in their heads.”

A clear head is important.

For the Chiefs, so is having fun.

What a novel idea.

When the ball doesn’t strike the pins quite right, when one too many 7-10 splits occur, or that last pin teeters but never falls, the importance of having fun remains.

“I enjoy the laughing, the getting along with people, meeting new people, making friends and just like the love and care that we have for each other — that’s what makes it fun,” Rogers said.

Kylee became interested in bowling her sophomore year because of her sister Caitlin Christie. Kylee Christie filled in on the varsity lineup sometimes, but she felt she really earned her spot as a junior.

“I’ve really grown my love for it,” she said. “I was not meaning to, but it kind of just happened.”

Kylee Christie hopes to reach the state tournament as an individual or as a team with one of the two berths from the Columbia Basin Big Nine. Currently, Moses Lake is in fifth place with an even 4-4 record.

“When I started to get competitive with it I realized that I enjoyed it, but I never intended for it to be something I was going to be competitive about. I always thought of it as something fun.”

Rogers is the more experienced bowler of the two. She began the sport around 7 or 8 years old and worked her way up from a kids’ league.

“That’s really where it started, in Moses Lake,” Rogers said.

With her experience comes the confidence to help other bowlers when Stevenson is busy. For Rogers, her advice to a teammate could be something as simple as shifting foot placement by a board or two, which can increase a pin total by 10 or 20.

“I feel like I bring a lot of support towards the team to at least get them excited for what they can get out of bowling,” she said. “Instead of it being just a no one talks kind of deal I get them to talk and we all have fun and we kind of create a family in our bowling team, which makes us a lot stronger because we get along with each other a lot easier.”

Rogers, Christie and the rest of the Chiefs have some work to do to make their goals, with only four matches left.

But they’re up for the challenge.

“It gets very, very competitive, but it’s kind of what makes it fun because it gives you a challenge,” Rogers said.