Card girls take fifth place at state - 2019 sports top 10 year-in-review

MEDICAL LAKE - The Cardinal girls earned fifth place at the state playoff games at the Hardwood Classic at the Yakima SunDome for the second year in a row after going 2 for 2 in the state 1A championships.

The team started out with a decisive 49-36 victory over the No. 8 Kings Knights in a game that saw both teams exchange the lead several time in back-and-forth play. The Cardinals were led to the win by Jaycee Oliver before taking on the Meridian Trojans in a follow-up 41-33 win in quarter-final play led by Jessica Lohman and Lexie Redell to advance to the 1A semi-finals.

But Medical Lake, despite Lohman's 15 game points, weren't able to overcome the Lyndon Christian in a bitter 58-34 loss to the Lyncs for the second consecutive year.

"LC is a great defensive team and we knew we would have to shoot their lights out and hold them to a low shooting percentage," head coach Kyle Lundberg said.

But like a tsunami, Lyndon just kept on coming, outscoring Medical Lake in the second half alone 30-16.

The Card girls then advanced to a consolation bracket to play their early season nemesis: Cashmere.

The final game of the Card's season against the Cashmere Bulldogs was a near repeat of their Jan. 5 defeat in Cashmere early in the regular season during non-league play.

The Bulldogs dominated the hardwood, shooting well and making nearly 45 percent of their shots to Medical Lake's 1 in 4, while the Bulldog defense kept the Cards off the boards for most of the game and were a nightmare under the net both offensively and defensively.

The Cardinals would lose the game 55-33.

Redell led Medical Lake scoring, while the normally high-scoring NEA MVP Lohman was held to 2 points.

Lundberg had nothing but praise for his team, noting that the Cards had lost two first-team all-league players last year.

"This team wasn't picked to win our league," he said. "They not only did that, but also brought back that fifth-place trophy."

The Cardinal girls closed the season with a 21-9 overall record, including 5-3 in post-season play, landing a playoff slot for the third year in a row, and earning fifth overall in state 1A for the second consecutive season under Lundberg's leadership.

Lee Hughes can be reached at [email protected].