Lewis and Clark girls bring home sixth place from State 4A

TACOMA – It was the Lupfer and Loera show Saturday morning at the Tacoma Dome.

Unfortunately for the Lewis and Clark girls basketball team, Moses Lake had more Loeras.

Moses Lake sisters Jessie and Jamie Loera combined for 43 points and eight assists, overshadowing Tigers senior Riley Lupfer’s 25 in a 62-58 loss that sent LC back to Spokane with a sixth-place trophy from the state tournament.

“They’re fast,” Lupfer said. “I did a pretty good job keeping in front, but we struggled to get help-side. Jessie’s quick, and then she’ll just give it to her sister and she’ll hit it. They’re a tough duo.”

Lewis and Clark coach George Pfeifer said he wasn’t surprised by the Loeras’ performance, but he also wasn’t surprised by Lupfer’s game-high 25 points, or her seven rebounds and her team leadership.

“She’s the MVP of the GSL,” Pfeifer said. “She’s a Division I college basketball player. It’s not a surprise to us. I know how hard it is for her to do that, but it’s an expectation.”

LC (19-8) started off well, leading 19-13 after the first quarter, but a 20-8 Moses Lake run – which included three 3-pointers from sophomore guard Jamie Loera – in the second quarter gave the Chiefs (25-1) a 37-29 halftime lead they would not relinquish.

“We just didn’t get to them and we kind of let the house start on fire, and that was the problem,” Pfeifer said. “I think our plan was good because we started off the game doing some good things, but we just had trouble guarding those two kids.”

Jamie Loera finished with 19 points and six rebounds for fourth-place Moses Lake, and senior point guard Jessie Loera, who has committed to play at Gonzaga next year, had 24 points, seven assists and four steals.