The Medical Lake girls' basketball team earned its first Northeast A League regular season championship in 26 years following their 47-27 win over Freeman on Jan. 27. Following the conclusion of the regular season, tonight (Feb. 2) versus Colville, the team will earn a bye and advance to the second round of the playoffs on Friday, Feb. 10 at West Valley High School.
See a photo gallery from the event here.
Medical Lake's girl's basketball team extended one streak, and ended a long dry spell last Friday, Jan. 27.
With wins over Newport, 41-27 on Jan. 24, and Freeman, 47-27 on Friday, the Cardinals ran their winning streak to 14 and in the process clinched their first Northeast A League regular season title since 1990-91, a span of 26 years.
"I feel very blessed to be part of this great season in which we were able to win the NEA title," head coach Kyle Lundberg said. "The girls played and worked very hard and they deserve all the credit."
Led by the 11 points from Jaxyn Farmen, and another suffocating defensive effort against Freeman, No. 11-ranked Medical Lake improved to 12-0 in NEA play and 16-2 overall.
After leading just 25-21 at halftime, the Cardinals tightened the defensive effort in the second half, allowing Freeman (4-8, 5-13) just six points - and a single field goal in the eventual 20-point victory.
"We stepped our defensive game up in the second half," Lundberg said. "We switched our defensive tactics and were able to limit their shot selections."
In the first game of the week at Newport (4-8, 5-13), a pair of freshman, Lexi Redell, 16 points, and Jayda Noble with 14, paced the attack.
"We have four solid freshman on this team," Lundberg said. "It's a great group and we want to continue to focus one game at a time and stay hungry for more success."
Medical Lake struggled shooting the ball at Newport, but found other ways to win the game. Leading just 29-23 going into the final quarter, the Cardinals got a big finish, outscoring the hosts 12-4, to pull away.
"We got 23 offensive rebounds and created 32 turnovers," Lundberg said. "That was the key to the game."
It's been a significant turnaround from a year ago at this time when Medical Lake, which finished 6-16, was clawing its way into the postseason and an exit in a second-round district game.
"I think the biggest factor this year is our depth," Lundberg said. "Having 12 players on varsity this year was a huge advantage that we could use to outrun teams."
That depth, however, has sometimes made it challenging to get everyone playing time, particularly in their comfort zone.
"It is tough to have that many players on a team, so many girls had to accept a different role on the team," Lundberg said. "Also having so many good shooters on this team has helped greatly. It seemed when we had somebody struggle someone else always stepped up and made shots."
Lundberg wanted to acknowledge the foundation that has been built in the past by ML teams in celebrating the fete of the title.
"We have had several great previous players and coaches that have been in this program in the past years that we want to honor the work that they put in prior to this team," he said.
Medical Lake played at Lakeside (9-3, 12-6) this past Tuesday, and close out the regular season hosting Colville (4-8, 5-13) tonight (Feb. 2) at 5:45 p.m. on Senior Night. The playoffs start Feb. 8 at sites to be determined.
Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneyfreepress.com.
See a photo gallery from the event here.
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