Vikings come up big
<p>Tamara Orlandi, a fan and the mother of a member of the Vikings basketball team, reacts to the action in the fourth quarter of the Idaho state girls basketball tournament Friday in Nampa. The Coeur d'Alene High team was tied with Highland High School for much of the game, pulling away for the win in the last four minutes.</p>
<p>Heather Baughman (2) and Amanda Buttrey high-five each other following Friday's win over Highland sending the Vikings into the championship game.</p>
<p>Amanda Burrtrey, of Coeur d'Alene, plays defense against Highland's Kelsey Belnap Friday in the first half of the state tournament in Nampa.</p>
<p>Dayna Drager of Coeur d'Alene (5) makes contact with Highland's Dakota Gonzalez (12) during the second half of state basketball in Nampa.</p>
<p>The Vikings' Dayna Drager passes Highland defender Dakota Gonzalez as she takes the ball up court in the first half.</p>
<p>Amy Palmer, left, and Heather Baughman celebrate with team mates on the Viking bench near the end of Friday's second round win again Highland.</p>
<p>Kendalyn Brainard of Coeur d'Alene loose for a passing outlet Friday in Nampa.</p>
<p>After rebounding the ball, Carli Rosenthal of Coerud'Alene High (24) looks for team mate to pass to Friday during girls state basketball in Nampa.</p>
<p>Coeur d'Alene High's Carli Rosenthal makes a move toward the basket Friday in the third quarter of second round play against Highland High School during the 2010 Girls Idaho State High School Basketball Championship tournament in Nampa.</p>
<p>Coeur d'Alene's Kendalyn Brainard looks for a passing option Friday against Highland High Schoolin Nampa.</p>
NAMPA - Going into the state 5A girls basketball tournament, the Coeur d'Alene Vikings knew that if they were to get to a fifth straight title game, that somebody on their roster had to have a big game.
Junior Carli Rosenthal, who at 6-foot-3 stands as the tallest Viking on the floor, had a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Vikings to the title game with a 48-39 win over the Highland Rams of Pocatello at the Idaho Center on Friday night.
"It was a physical game," Rosenthal said. "We just pushed through and came together as a team to get the win."
The title game will be an all-5A Inland Empire League matchup, with Coeur d'Alene (21-4) taking on Lewiston (21-2) at 7 p.m. PST in the Idaho Center. The game will be webcast at www.IdahoSports.com.
Lewiston, at state for the first time since 1989, has won two of three from Coeur d'Alene this season, including a victory last week in the Region 1 title game.
"It takes a lot of hard work," Coeur d'Alene coach Dale Poffenroth said. "It's a lot of summers and playing a lot of ball in the summer together."
Rosenthal, who played only 16 minutes in Thursday's win over Boise due to foul trouble, controlled the inside of the paint for most of the night.
"We kind of slowed things down in the second half," Rosenthal said. "We started looking for the open player and started hitting some shots."
Coeur d'Alene freshman Kendalyn Brainard scored 16 points, 12 of them in the second half with eight rebounds.
"We knew we could dominate the game inside," Brainard said. "They didn't really have anyone to match up with Carli inside, so we knew we could get the ball to her."
Coeur d'Alene, which has won the last two state titles, jumped out to its largest lead of the first half on a jumper by Rosenthal with 2:29 remaining in the first quarter, but the Rams battled back to even the game at 14 on a 3-pointer by Kelsey Belnap at the buzzer.
Both teams battled back and forth in the second quarter as neither team built a lead larger than two points and they went into the locker room tied at 21.
Coeur d'Alene opened the third quarter on a 7-2 run and never trailed after that point on.
"That style of defense isn't good for us," Poffenroth said of Highland's press. "It kind of forced us out of what we wanted to do on offense. We kept trying to run our offense and turned the ball over in the first half."
Coeur d'Alene had 13 turnovers in the first half, helping the Rams remain close after shooting 1 for 4 from the foul line in the first half. Coeur d'Alene outrebounded Highland 34-19 on the night.
"You've got to give credit to Highland," Poffenroth said. "They played with what they had, but we just shot the ball a little bit better in the second half."
Poffenroth added that he didn't change the game plan much in the second half.
"I told them we had to attack the basket," Poffenroth said. "With all the turnovers in the first half, I told them I'd rather see them shoot the ball than throw it away - we just had to attack the basket."
"I thought we played well," Highland coach Scott Hansen said. "We didn't have any answers for Rosenthal inside. We had too many turnovers. Coeur d'Alene is a good team."
Highland (21-4) was led by freshman Dylan Gonzalez with 12 points, followed by her twin sister Dakota Gonzalez with 10 points.
"I don't know if you can ever be confident about making it back to this game," Hansen said of his team's chances at another state run. "The season is tough and once you get here, you need a little bit of luck."
Coeur d'Alene 14 7 12 15 - 48
HIghland 14 7 6 12 - 39
COEUR d'ALENE - Baughman 4, Buttrey 7, Drager 2, Orlandi 0, Williams 0, Parker 1, Rosenthal 18, Brainard 16, Palmer 0. Totals 17-40 14-19 48.
HIGHLAND - Dy. Gonzalez 12, Holman 0, Da. Gonzalez 10, Norton 2, Duffin 0, Belnap 7, Suppah 0, Wilkinson 5, Adams 3. Totals 16-40 5-10 39.