Lions roar back to defeat Taholah, 46-43, and advance to Spokane
CASEY MCCARTHY | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 8 months AGO
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald MLCA’s Mckenna Meise fires up the shot in the lane for the Lions in the second half of their 46-43 win over Taholah.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald MLCA’s Makiya Kast surveys the floor in the first half against Taholah on Saturday afternoon at Big Bend Community College.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald The Lions celebrate after clawing back to secure their spot in the 1B Hardwood Classic Tournament in Spokane this week.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Kali Kast fires the shot from deep for Moses Lake Christian Academy in the second half of the Lions’ comeback win over Taholah on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Sophomore guard Aspen Merkle drives up the floor after a takeaway by the MLCA defense on the other end.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Deana Gulenko (23) powers up the shot between a pair of Taholah players in the first half of the Lions’ comeback win on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Mckenna Meise dives for the loose ball as she knocks it away from the Taholah player on Saturday afternoon at Big Bend CC.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Mckenna Meise leads the break after a Lion’s takeaway in the second half of MLCA’s 46-43 win.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Mckenna Meise breaks up the floor as the MLCA defense helped the Lions comeback to defeat the Chitwhins at Big Bend on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Mckenna Meise fires the pullup jumper from the baseline with a Taholah player reaching in to contest on Saturday afternoon.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald MLCA senior Deana Gulenko powered the Lions down the stretch on their way to the 46-43 win over Taholah to advance to the 1B Hardwood Classic in Spokane.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Kali Kast takes the layup for Moses Lake Christian Academy on the break in the first half of the game against Taholah on Saturday.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Senior Deana Gulenko fought off shoulder pain to help provide the late surge the Lions needed to take down Taholah on Saturday afternoon.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian’s Aspen Merkle provided an early spark for the Lions, pouring in all 10 of her points in the first half.
MLCA’s Kali Kast goes in for the shot against the defender from Taholah in the second half of the Lions’ 46-43 win at Big Bend CC.
Casey McCarthy/Columbia Basin Herald
MOSES LAKE — The Lions fought back to claim their spot in Spokane with a 46-43 win over Taholah on Saturday. Both sides got off to slow starts in a turnover-riddled opening quarter. The Chitwhins took an 8-6 lead into the second quarter.
Taholah looked to ride their size down low as it appeared they might pull away from the Lions in the second quarter.
“We knew Taholah would be a pretty physical team coming in and get after us,” head coach Josh Kast said. “We told our girls, we’re gonna have to fight through fouls and things like that.”
Sophomore Aspen Merkle knocked in a pair of big shots from deep, pouring in all 10 of her points in the first half to keep Moses Lake Christian Academy/Covenant Christian close.
Taholah led 26-20 at the break.
MLCA tightened up the bolts on defense coming out of the locker room, finally pulling ahead of the Chitwhins at 29-28 with 1:30 left in the third. The visitors would pull back ahead heading into the fourth quarter, 30-29.
Senior Deana Gulenko fought off shoulder pain to power the Lions in the fourth quarter, after ripping off her shoulder brace in frustration in the third quarter. Gulenko was a force down the stretch, pouring in nine points, three rebounds and three steals in the final eight minutes.
The Lions took a 10-point edge with three minutes to play at 40-30, but the Chitwhins made one final push with a string of late 3-pointers. MLCA hit just enough free throws and picked up just enough stops down the stretch to hold on and secure the comeback victory.
Gulenko led MLCA with 16 points, 13 coming in the second half. The senior added seven rebounds, five steals and one assist. Merkle finished with 10 points, adding a pair of rebounds and an assist.
Freshman Kali Kast finished with seven points, all in the second half, chipping in six boards, four assists and three steals.
Kast credited the Lions’ early struggles to adjusting to the physicality of the game as well as an atmosphere his group hadn’t experienced yet. “Being down six at half, I told the girls, you have to outscore them by seven in the second half if you want to go where you want to go,” Kast said. “They responded well, came out with some fire, a little bit more energy defensively.”
The MLCA head coach said Gulenko is the “emotional leader” for his team and is a player he relies on to “bring the fire” on the defensive end.
“The rest of the girls feed off of that,” Kast said. “She just does so much for us, offensively and defensively, around the basket.”
Kast said he liked the way his team was able to turn up the pressure down the stretch to close out the victory. Moving forward, Kast said the Lions will have to be more patient on offense, taking what the defense gives them.
Free throw shooting was a struggle against Taholah, something Kast said they’ll have to clean up if they want to compete with better teams.
The Lions will have a short break before opening up 1B Hardwood Classic play on Wednesday against fifth-seeded Mount Vernon Christian.
Tipoff is set for 7:15 p.m. at Spokane Veterans Memorial Stadium with the winner advancing to face Yakama Nation Tribal.
