Cardinal girls earn NEA split

It’s been feast or famine for the Medical Lake girl’s basketball team this season.

And last week’s split of a pair of Northeast A League contests, losing 42-38 at home to Colville, but capping things with a hold-your-breath 35-34 win on the road at Newport, was a perfect example.

“Yeah that was a nice win,” Cardinals head coach Kyle Lundberg said of the Newport victory. “I was proud of the girls, and how they were able to find a way to win. That’s important because we really needed that win.”

Against Colville (4-1 NEA, 5-6 overall), things were going well in the first half where Medical Lake went to the halftime break leading 21-15. But after the break the Cardinals came out cold, on both sides of the ball in the third quarter and were outscored 16-5.

That’s essentially what decided the game.

“Colville and our girls are very evenly matched so I knew it would be a close game,” Lundberg said. “We had a few defensive lapses that cost us.”

Bradyn Wegner led the Cardinals — and all scorers in the game — with 16 points and was the only player on her team to hit double-figures. Megan Lee had 13 for Colville.

“I know I sound like a broken record, but our defense is the key,” Lundberg said. “When we play quality team defense, it provides our offense a spark.”

Both games were a stark improvement over their last game, a 60-35 thumping at the hands of the Greater Spokane League’s Rogers High.

“Overall we bounced back from our poor defensive performance against Rogers and played much better,” Lundberg said of the week in review. “The girls showed me a lot of fight and I’m happy that we played as hard as we did.”

Friday at Newport, Medical Lake again had a strong start and outscored the Grizzlies 19-9 in the opening quarter. The Cards’ offense vanished for the next two quarters and they trailed 26-25 heading into the final period.

This time it was Medical Lake with the strong finish, an 8-0 run that included Wegner’s four free throws. That gave the Cardinals enough of an edge to survive a late 3-pointer, a buzzer-beater by Lauren Vaughn that closed the gap.

Wegner, a junior and the younger sister of Maleeka Wegner, the Cards’ top point producer versus the Grizzlies with nine points, earned some special recognition from her coach.

“We have several girls that have stepped up each game,” Lundberg said. “Bradyn (Wegner) did an outstanding job being aggressive and attacking the basket which resulted in getting to the foul line. Then like a veteran she went 4 for 4 from the free throw line towards the end of the fourth quarter.”

Medical Lake hosted Lakeside (5-0 NEA, 10-1 overall) this past Tuesday and plays at Riverside (2-3, 3-7) Friday at 5:15 p.m. In between this past Wednesday was the annual Golden Feather Spirit Game when Medical Lake hosted 4-8 Cheney.

Paul Delaney can be reached at [email protected].