Opportunity missed

LEWISTON - Like a rubber band, the young Coeur d'Alene Vikings tightened up in the fourth quarter until they eventually snapped.

Leading by two points after three quarters, the second-seeded Vikings suffered through a miserable fourth quarter of turnovers and missed shots and lost 53-41 to the top-seeded Lewiston Bengals in the championship game of the 5A Region 1 girls basketball tournament Tuesday night before an estimated 1,000 fans at raucous Booth Hall.

"We just tightened up," Coeur d'Alene coach Dale Poffenroth said. "It was like the analogy I used for the Lewis and Clark game. We were like those little airplanes. We wound that rubber band up, only this time it snapped. ... When you can't make a layin, and we missed four of them right down the stretch. We just wound ourselves up so tight, so tense, and that comes probably from lack of experience."

Lewiston senior guard Nicole Redd scored 15 of her game-high 24 points in the second half, nine of those in the fourth quarter. She dribbled out the final seconds on the clock and flung the ball toward the ceiling as the buzzer sounded, and the Bengal fans rushed the court to celebrate their team's first trip to state since 1989.

"It's the best feeling in the world; definitely the best memory in my whole life," said Redd, who also had five rebounds and two steals. "We were aware (how long it's been since Lewiston went to state). We were definitely focused; there was no doubt we were the better team. We were not nervous; we were anxious. We've always been the underdogs, and we played through that."

Lewiston (19-2), ranked fourth in 5A, will play the winner of a Saturday play-in game in its state opener on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. PST at the Idaho Center in Nampa.

Coeur d'Alene (18-4), ranked second in 5A, will play host to Lake City (15-7) on Friday at 7 p.m. for the region's second berth to state.

Coeur d'Alene led 34-32 after three quarters after sophomore Erin Legel hit two of three free throws after she was fouled on a desperation 40-footer in the final second of the quarter.

But Redd scored six points in an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter, and Lewiston never looked back en route to its 13th straight victory.

"Nicole Redd was fantastic tonight," Lewiston coach Pat Teichmer said.

"Every time we struggled to score, that girl made a shot. She played

like a three-year starting point guard in the biggest game of her

life. I thought she played her best game."

Coeur d'Alene, the two-time defending state champions but with mostly

new players this year, shot 2 for 16 from the field in the fourth

quarter - many of those from right next to the basket - and also

committed seven of its 18 turnovers in the final quarter.

"As long as we were in the game and had the lead, we were OK,"

Poffenroth said. "But as soon as she (Redd) made that move and we made

that bad pass, that rubber band tightened up a little more and it just

snapped."

The Vikings were outscored 17-3 to start the quarter, and didn't make

a basket until a putback by Carli Rosenthal with a minute left in the

game made it 49-39 Lewiston.

"I thought we played with a lot of poise on offense tonight," Teichmer

said. "They did such a good job of shutting down any of our set plays,

so we played a little rat ball with some rules, that's what we call

it. We have a few rules, but for the most part we just let them play.

And I've got kids that can make plays."

The first three quarters were tight, with neither team leading by more

than four points. Coeur d'Alene did a good job defending Lewiston's

driving guards, and the Vikings worked the ball inside to Rosenthal,

who finished with 16 points and six rebounds, and freshman Kendalyn

Brainard, who had 13 points and nine boards.

A putback by Dayna Drager at the halftime buzzer sent Coeur d'Alene to

the locker room with a 21-19 lead.

Coeur d'Alene, which won four of the last five regional titles, opened

up a four-point lead early in the third quarter, but Redd sank a

couple of 3-pointers to give the Bengals brief leads.

Lewiston, which won at Coeur d'Alene last Tuesday to tie the Vikings

for the 5A Inland Empire League title, then won the coin flip for the

No. 1 seed, shot just 12 for 37 from the field, but got to the line 39

times, sinking 26. The Bengals made 15 of 22 from the line in the

fourth quarter, as the Vikings were forced to foul. Redd made 10 of 13

from the line. Lewiston committed seven turnovers - just two in the

second half.

With 4:35 left and Lewiston up by five, the Bengals went to a spread

offense trying to get layups or draw fouls. Lewiston hit 13 of 20 from

the line the rest of the way.

"His (Teichmer's) kids have come along, and done a really good job

from when we played them last summer," Poffenroth said. "They've

really matured. Nicole's always been solid; she doesn't turn the ball

over. That's what I like about her. And the rest of his kids do their

part."

Coeur d'Alene 12 9 13 7 - 41

Lewiston 9 10 13 21 - 53

COEUR d'ALENE - Baughman 0, Buttrey 1, Drager 7, Parker 2, Legel 2,

Rosenthal 16, Brainard 13.

LEWISTON - Kramer 9, Wilson 4, Baldwin 1, Redd 24, Johnson 2, Blinn 4, Fuller 9.