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State 1A: Lynden Christian girls top Medical Lake in semifinals for second straight year

Lynden Christian’s Kenadi Fay grabs a rebound over Medical Lake’s Kirsten Gilbert during a State 1A semifinal Friday in Yakima. (Evan Abell / Yakima Herald-Republic)
By Michael Anderson For The Spokesman-Review

YAKIMA – Defending champion Lynden Christian had too much offense for Medical Lake to handle in the SunDome on Friday, defeating the Cardinals 58-34 and knocking them into the State 1A girls game for third and fifth places.

It was the second straight semifinal loss to Lynden Christian for the Cardinals (20-7). Medical Lake will play Cashmere at 11:15 a.m. on Saturday . Cashmere defeated the Cardinals 62-44 when the teams met on Jan. 5.

Medical Lake won a state opener Wednesday and a state quarterfinal Thursday against teams that struggled to score.

This time, the Cardinals faced an opponent whose offensive proficiency forced them to play from behind. The taller Lyncs hit 12 of 26 shots from the field and grabbed 19 rebounds to the Cardinals’ 11 in the first half.

“Their size and length is something that kind of bothered us. When you give up a lot of size like we did tonight, it becomes kind of a David vs. Goliath situation,” Medical Lake coach Kyle Lundberg said. “When you give up that much height and length, it’s hard to stay with them for four quarters.”

LC opened the second quarter with an 11-0 run – with four baskets by freshman Libby Stump – to break the game open at 24-9

Jessica Lohman worked to keep Medical Lake close in the opening half, hitting 5 of 8 field goals for 12 points and grabbing five rebounds. The Cardinals cut the deficit to 26-18 with a six-point run late in the half.

“Jessica had a really good game. She was really an offensive force for us and did a good job on the rebounding,” Lundberg said.

Lohman finished with 15 points and nine rebounds.

The Lyncs responded to the late second-period run with an 8-0 start to the third quarter. Lynden Christian led by as many as 24 points in the fourth quarter.

The Cardinals placed fifth last season, taking home their first state trophy in 27 years. Another trophy is assured this season.

“I’m proud of our girls,” Lundberg said. “We battled that team and they gave it everything they had. We are going to learn from this and get ready for tomorrow.”