Lions Prevail versus Bombers - By Brayden Pratt

    The Richland Lady Bombers traveled across the Tri-Cities to Kennewick for a Saturday afternoon matchup vs the Lions. Both teams were coming off of hard-fought losses on Friday night, and Richland fell to the Kamiakin Braves at home in a long-awaited matchup for both teams. The Kennewick Lions went down to Walla Walla and dropped a 3-point loss. So, both teams went into Saturday hungry and ready to fight for a win. The Lions did get the best of the Bombers 51-43 on Saturday, moving the Bombers to 6-5 and 5th in the MCC on the year and lifting the Lions to 8-3 and 4th in the MCC.

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    This Bombers team is headlined by Senior guard Macie Milium, who is on a comeback tour this year after a tragic injury that cut her season short in the District 8 Championship game at Kamiakin High School. But now she is back, and after months of recovery, she is looking to take over the second half of the season and prove that the Bombers are here to compete. Another stud for this Richland team is Junior Forward Mackenzie Shulz, who was a part of both the state teams for Richland, but this year has really come into stride for the Bombers. Making every time she has the ball raises problems for opposing teams. In Friday's effort vs. the top-ranked Kamiakin Braves, Mackenzie had 19 of the Bombers' points in the first half, and the Bombers had 19. Yes, Mackenzie scored 19 of 19 points for the Bombers in the first half of Friday's effort, asserting herself as a force to be reckoned with in the MCC. 

    But you can’t forget about the Lions' stars, including Junior forward Dylyn Dress and her twin sister Ashlyn, who just sky over most teams. Before the game, I got a chance to speak with Dylyn about her thoughts about the upcoming matchup. She had this to say, “We want to limit their second chance points and force their drives into the help side,” as well as saying, “We are constantly trying to improve our defense”. Hence, you better believe these Lions are gonna come out ready to fight and not allow anything to be done easily. The phrase No Easy Buckets must be something these Lions take pride in.

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    The start of this game went exactly how a competitive game between two solid teams should be played out. With a couple early game buckets for the Lions, Haylee Johnson got the scoring started early with 6 of her own in the first quarter and the Bombers scoring being spread out very evenly throughout the starters, leaving this game all knotted up at 11-11 at the end of the opening eight minutes of the game. With such a battle between two solid teams to see a start like this, both teams knew it would be a dogfight to come out with the win in this one.

    In the 2nd quarter, things took off for the Lions. Haylee Johnson added in another 4 points, and Dylyn Dress got going, finishing with 7 going into the half. The Lions just went out and dominated this quarter, scoring the Bombers 19-5, hoping that this would separate the Lions from this gritty Bombers team who, even though they might have had a rough quarter, you can guarantee that they were not going to go away and give up with all this time left in the game. But going into the break, the Lions led the Bombers 30-16.

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    The 3rd quarter would need to be a big comeback quarter for the Bombers if they wanted any chance at winning this game. Westerfield and her girls came out and did just that. The Bombers were slowly chipping away at the lead for the Lions, getting some quick buckets and fighting to keep themselves alive in this game, cutting the lead down to 10 heading into the final quarter. The Bombers in the 3rd quarter were propelled by Maya Rowe, who stepped up and played very well in the 3rd quarter, contributing points and some crucial rebounds for the lady Bombers, helping them battle all quarter and keep them in this ball game.

    The 4th quarter was a defensive-focused quarter for the Bombers as they could hold the Lions, who had been dominating the game so far, to only eight points, which would give these ladies a chance to win the game. With a full-court press speeding up the Lions, forcing some turnovers, and for them to be flustered, this game was within reach for Richland. But their efforts would need to be more as even though they outscored the Lions 13-8. Despite solid performances from Mackenzie Schulz, Macie Milum, and Maya Rowe, the Bombers would fall to the Kennewick Lions 51-43. The pairing of Dylyn Dress and Haylee Johnson down low was just too much to handle for the Bombers, and those two alone combined for 30 points.

    The Bombers will look to move forward. I spoke with senior guard Macie Milum about her thoughts moving forward. She stated, “After taking two tough losses, we are ready to get a win. We are playing hard and tough and feeling confident moving forward”.They will face off this Friday at home against the Walla Walla Blue Devils, who have had a solid season so far, sitting at 8-3 and 2nd in the MCC, so this will be a great matchup for the Bombers if they want to make a statement win.

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