EPHRATA — Down by one with under a minute on the clock, Ephrata senior Alessa Soto drained a three-pointer to give Ephrata a 50-48 lead over East Valley (Yakima); however, the Red Devils answered with a three-pointer of their own on their next possession, defeating the Tigers 51-50 Tuesday night.

“We were going possession for possession,” Ephrata Head Coach Alain Black said. “Alessa (Soto) hit that big shot for us to give us a chance to win it; we just struggled defensively with communicating and losing their people and knowing where they were.”

The Tigers got the ball back with 30.5 seconds remaining in the game after a Red Devil turnover, where Soto gave Ephrata the lead with her three-pointer. East Valley took the ball up the floor and called back-to-back timeouts with 13.6 seconds left, then hit a three-pointer with 1.6 seconds left in the game. 

The Tigers got the ball down the floor on a deep pass, but couldn’t convert on the shot and fell 51-50.

“We talked, ‘We have fouls to give, so let’s just just go foul,’” Black said. “We got one, but didn’t get the second one. (East Valley’s) a good-coached team.”

Ephrata led the game 16-14 after the first quarter, later taking a 25-20 lead on a three-pointer by Soto in the final minutes of the first half. East Valley ended the second quarter on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 25, making a basket with under a second left before halftime.

“You’re looking for that one possession, then ‘Okay, let’s get a stop,’” Black said. “They would stop us, then we would stop them: we would score, then they would score. We tried to build on (the lead), and just never could.”

Black said some of the contributing factors to the closely contested game were the 13-day layoff from Ephrata’s last game, as well as getting past the mental barrier of competing in league contests.

“I think (the break) is some of it, I think heading into league is some of it,” Black said. “We’ve been in a league for multiple years that we haven’t been successful in, so trying to get past that mental block – that we can compete with these teams. We had some conversations about that after the game, that we just need to erase all the names off their jerseys and go play.”

Soto led the Tigers with 21 points, followed by senior Addison Mills with 17.

“(Soto’s) a kid who lives in the gym constantly, so I have all faith in putting the ball in her hands,” Black said. “If she has a shot, I know that she’ll knock it down. I trust her to shoot it.”

Ephrata (8-3) travels to Ellensburg Friday night for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff, then returns home to host Othello at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

“We’ve got to communicate and lay as a team,” Black said. “We can’t be a one-man show, we’ve got to be all 11 of us. We’ve got to talk with each other, we’ve got to move well with each other and just know that we can play with any of these teams.”

Before the holiday break, Ephrata traveled to Nevada to play in the Emerald Division of the girls Tarkanian Classic, which hosted teams from Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Utah and Nevada. The Tigers won their bracket at the tournament, defeating Palo Verde 34-31 in the title game.

“It was awesome,” Black said. “We went down, and the girls played really well. That’s why we said, ‘If we can erase names off jerseys’ – they went down there and dominated.”

Following the girls game, the Ephrata boys (5-6) defeated the Red Devils in a 51-49 win. Ephrata led 32-14 at halftime and held off an attempted East Valley comeback in the second half. Tiger seniors Hayden Roberts and Cody Black tied for the Ephrata lead with 11 points each, followed by junior Payton Riggs and Hans Roberts who both scored eight points. Senior Cameron Zabala scored six points in Tuesday’s win.

Ian Bivona may be reached at ibivona@columbiabasinherald.com.

Box Scores

Ephrata girls vs. East Valley

EPH: 16-9-15-10 50

EVY: 14-11-16-10 51

Ephrata boys vs. East Valley

EPH: 16-16-11-8 51

EVY: 8-6-21-14 49

    Ephrata senior Delaney Hagy (5) brings the ball up the floor against East Valley (Yakima).
 IAN BIVONA/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD   

    Ephrata senior Alessa Soto (14) attempts a three-pointer against East Valley (Yakima). Soto led the Tigers with 21 points.
 IAN BIVONA/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD   

    Ephrata junior Payton Riggs, in white, brings the ball up the floor against East Valley (Yakima). The Ephrata boys defeated the Red Devils 51-49 Tuesday night.
 IAN BIVONA/COLUMBIA BASIN HERALD