Rematch looming

Coeur d’Alene, Lewiston win, will play for title Tuesday in Lewiston

LEWISTON - The top two teams in the 5A Inland Empire League will clash for the third time on Tuesday at Booth Hall, this time for the 5A Region 1 title and a berth to state as Coeur d'Alene and Lewiston won opening-round games on Friday.

In the night's early game, the second-seeded Coeur d'Alene Vikings (18-3) advanced to the title game with a 48-38 win over third-seeded Lake City (14-7). Top-seeded Lewiston advanced on the heels of junior Savannah Blinn's 15-point, 10-rebound, nine-block performance in a 51-35 win over fourth-seeded Post Falls.

"Savannah does a great job of avoiding contact," Lewiston coach Pat Teichmer said. "Her timing is fantastic."

Lewiston jumped out to an 11-2 lead after the first quarter and held Post Falls to 14 points in the first half.

"Our goal was to make Katelyn (Loper) work for every point," Teichmer said. "We didn't let her get comfortable tonight and she had to earn each point."

Tori Davenport had nine points for Post Falls, followed by Loper with seven points.

Coeur d'Alene will play at Lewiston on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Also at that time, Post Falls plays at Lake City in a loser-out game.

Coeur d'Alene 48, Lake City 38: Senior Dayna Drager scored nine of her game-high 16 points in the fourth quarter after junior post Carli Rosenthal was forced to the bench with four fouls a minute into the third quarter.

"With this group we can still play well without her in the game," Coeur d'Alene coach Dale Poffenroth said. "Because of the matchups, we can go to Kyeli (Parker) and Erin (Legel) and still play well."

Lake City coach Royce Johnston was pleased with the way that his team battled back after the Vikings' 11-0 run late in the game.

"I'm really proud of our defensive effort," Johnston said. "We went into a drought and got down 11 points and lost by 10. Defensively, to hold Coeur d'Alene to 48 is what we were trying for; we just didn't get the shots to fall. We were in a position to win the game, but tonight it was more about what they did right, instead of what we did wrong."

Poffenroth was pleased with Drager's performance leading the way as the Vikings outscored the Timberwolves 17-9 in the fourth quarter.

"It's was time," Poffenroth said of Drager. "We were trying to do some things for her tonight. She was 4 of 20 from the field the first two times we played Lake City, so it was good to see her step up tonight."

Lake City 8 8 13 9 - 38

Coeur d'Alene 9 12 10 17 - 48

LAKE CITY - S. Butler 7, Smith 4, Kacelek 0, Rowe 7, Ball 4, Kerr 4, Mitchell 11.

COEUR d'ALENE -- Baughman 3, Buttrey 6, Drager 16, Parker 0, Legel 0, Rosenthal 11, Brainard 10.

Lewiston 51, Post Falls 35: Both teams came out sluggish on offense in the first quarter, but the Bengals found themselves up on the heels of Blinn's inside scoring.

Post Falls closed to within 21-16 in the third quarter, but could never get any closer.

"I told each of the kids that they had to contribute tonight," Post Falls coach Chris Johnson said. "Our kids played hard, but when the ball isn't going in, it's tough."

Despite the loss, Johnson was pleased with his team's defensive performance, holding the Bengals to 51 points on their home floor.

"We did a good job defensively," Johnson said. "That was one of their season lows tonight, and on their home floor. But we just struggled on offense."

Of playing Lake City on Tuesday, Johnson expects it to be another battle.

"I'm sure it will be competitive," Johnson said. "The last time we played them, they shot the ball extremely well. Hopefully, we can keep them from that this time."

Teichmer added that he's looking forward to another matchup with the Vikings, who split their previous meetings in league play. Both teams won on the other team's home court.

"It should be a good game," Teichmer said. "We are similar in a lot of ways. We've got the same kind of players and speed at guard. We were two possessions better than them last Tuesday - we'll see this Tuesday."

Post Falls 2 12 7 14 - 35

Lewiston 11 15 7 18 - 51

POST FALLS - Waller 0, Tennison 0, Howard 3, Davenport 9, Litalien 5, Clancy 1, Loper 7, Scott 0, Meehan 2, Failor 4, Bauman 4.

LEWISTON - Kramer 12, Wilson 6, Baldwin 0, Guzman 0, Redd 5, Johnson 0, Blewett 0, Blinn 15, Fuller 13.