Cardinal girls finally get into high gear

When the Medical Lake girls returned to finally playing basketball in game conditions Jan. 2, there might have been the perception that they did so in a lower gear during a 64-43 Northeast A League win at Newport.

The Cardinals quickly found overdrive, and tossed in a little nitro-methane to get all the cylinders firing to the max last Friday with a 53-22 victory over visiting Freeman to keep their NEA record perfect at 5-0 and 8-0 overall.

"We hadn't had a game in 17 days, our girls were a step behind on a lot of the plays," head coach Kyle Lundberg wrote in an email.

The Cardinals led 30-27 at halftime against the Grizzlies (3-2 NEA, 6-3 overall) but found that other gear in the third quarter. They raced to a 21-6 advantage which put the game well under control.

"Our defense was just a bit sluggish that first half," Lundberg said. "We only created eight turnovers that half but in the third quarter we were able to step it up and create eight turnovers."

Jayda Noble led her team with 21 points and landed an assist shy of the very rare triple-double with 16 rebounds and nine assists. "She played a great game when we needed that extra push," Lundberg said.

Ellie Acord was the other Cardinal in double figures with 13 points and nine rebounds. It was a nice return for Acord who played her first game since Dec. 5 against Davenport. Acord's return was timely too considering Medical Lake played the game with just seven players as Jaxyn Farmen was out sick.

Last Friday against Freeman (3-2, 5-5), both teams started slowly with the first basket not coming until nearly three minutes had elapsed. But when the door did open, it swung wide as Medical Lake took a 15-2 lead after the first quarter. They led 24-5 at halftime after a 13-0 run to open the second quarter.

Noble hit for 20 points to lead all scorers in the game with Lexie Redell adding 17.

"That defensive effort was pretty impressive, Freeman is a very good team, and our girls knew that going in," Lundberg said.

The game plan was designed to put plenty of pressure on them from the very start and it paid off with the Cards creating 37 turnovers. "They really made our girls work that game," Lundberg said, adding that his team was exhausted after an effort that lasted from the opening tip to final buzzer.

Lundberg termed the win "A total team effort," where Makayla Geiger and Farmen each were sick and played through it.

The pace might even quicken this week when the No. 9 RPI rated Cardinals took on No. 11 Lakeside (5-0, 8-3) on Jan. 9, then battle the distractions presented by the Golden Feather "Spirit Game" at Cheney (6-6) at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 12. They return to NEA play Saturday at Chewelah (1-4, 4-4) with a 4:15 p.m. tip.

"We are very excited for this match up," Lundberg said of Lakeside. "They are a very good team who have won eight games in a row and are playing very well right now. We look forward to the matchup."

Then comes the meeting with rival Cheney, a team with a lot of talent. "It will be a fun match up," Lundberg said.

"Yeah, I know every coach says it but honestly we treat the Spirit Game just like another game, just a lot more people in the stands," Lundberg said. "We always think, wouldn't it be nice to play in front of a crowd like this every game?"

Most of the Medical Lake girls have experienced a Spirit Game already. "But you really can't prepare the girls for the noise level, you just have to sometimes sit back and let them play through it," Lundberg said.

Lundberg said he has a lot of trust in his team and if they see something that might work he will let them run it if they can't hear his instructions.

Transfer Jessie Lohman will be playing in her first game on Tuesday and Lundberg is excited to get her into the rotation.

Paul Delaney can be reached at pdelaney@cheneypreepress.com.