Cards' rookie coach's first victory is notable one

For new Medical Lake girls’ basketball head coach Kyle Lundberg, his milestone initial high school victory could not come soon enough.

He had to wait three games into his career but got that memorable “W” last Friday, 39-35 at Freeman in the Northeast A League opener. It completed a 1-1 week for the Cardinals (1-2) who dropped a nonleague contest to Lind-Ritzville/Sprague, 75-43, Tuesday, Dec. 9.

“It was a great win,” Lundberg said. And it was made even more special. “I was told that was the first time Medical Lake had beaten Freeman, so being part of that and seeing how excited our girls were made it a great night.”

Senior leadership played a huge role against the Scotties as not only did Cassidy Hagel score five of her game-high 12 points in the fourth quarter but Maleeka Wegner got all six of her points on the night in the final 8 minutes.

“She came up huge for us towards the end,” Lundberg said of Wegner. “She also played great defense the entire game.”

Wegner’s sister, Bradyn, had eight points. Isabelle Miller led Freeman with 11 points.

“We didn’t play as good as we are capable, but bottom line we got the win,” Lundberg said. “But our girls showed me a lot of heart and fight.”

The Cardinals led 16-14 at the half in the low-scoring contest. They upped their lead to double-digits in the third before Freeman rallied.

Lundberg credited the defense as a crucial part of the win at Freeman.

“We as a team were able to put pressure on them in the fourth quarter and were able to get some key turnovers,” he added. “ Team defense was the key.”

“Glori Cheevers played an amazing defensive game,” Lundberg said. “She held their leading scorer to only three points.” 

His concern arose from not being able to get the easier baskets, Lundberg said.

“We missed a few chances to put the game away and we continue to work on those little things,” Lundberg said. “It was a great lesson for our girls that we must play and execute until the very end of the game.”

Tuesday, Hagel single-handedly tried to carry her team past Lind-Ritzville/Sprague, scoring 23 points. But the Cardinals were never able to recover from a slow start that saw them trail 35-15 at the half.

“Cassidy is a great competitor,” Lundberg said of the four-year performer. ”She plays the game extremely hard and I was very proud of her leadership and aggressiveness that night and every game we have played thus far.”

Mallory Kessler’s 15 points and 14 more from Tessa Jantz led the Broncos.

The Cardinals prepare for their holiday break with a busy schedule.

They were on the road in Chewelah this past Tuesday, Dec. 16 for another NEA contest and played a make-up game against Liberty, in Spangle before returning home Friday, Dec. 19 versus Deer Park at 7:30 p.m. ML’s first game in 2015 is Tuesday, Jan. 6 when they host Colville.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].