Salt Lake edges Cards, takes lead in SWAC race

| February 12, 2011 8:00 PM

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

SALT LAKE CITY - Freshman Sofia Hepworth's 21 points lifted the 15th-ranked Salt Lake Bruins to a 60-58 win over the ninth-ranked North Idaho College Cardinals in a Scenic West Athletic Conference game on Friday night at Bruin Arena.

NIC attempted to tie the game on a pick and roll with Kama Griffitts and Tugce Canitez, but the ball was stolen by Hepworth in the final seconds.

"Tugce rolled out and had a shot in the middle of the floor," NIC coach Chris Carlson said. "Hepworth had a big game for them off the bench and got things rolling a bit for them."

Salt Lake (19-4, 9-2 SWAC) took a one-game lead in the SWAC over NIC, which drops to second at 22-3, 8-3.

"We just couldn't get anything going tonight," Carlson said. "It's a tough loss for us because it would have put us in first place. We'll regroup from here and get after Snow tomorrow."

In other SWAC action, Southern Idaho defeated Snow 81-63 in Ephraim, Utah.

Kiki Edwards-Teasley hit a jumper to pull NIC within 59-58, but the Cardinals were unable to get another shot off before time expired. Canitez led NIC with 17 points and 12 rebounds, despite picking up her fourth foul early in the second half.

"I could have done a better job of getting our team prepared this week," Carlson said. "Next week, I've got to do a better job of getting our team prepared to play."

Griffitts scored 13 points for NIC, which plays Snow today at Ephraim.

NORTH IDAHO

Chantel Divilbiss 2-7 0-0 5, Camille Reynolds 3-9 2-4 9, Tugce Canitez 7-14 3-3 17, Amy Warbrick 0-2 0-0 0, Korina Baker 0-3 0-0 0, KiKi Edwards-Teasley 4-10 1-3 9, Kama Griffitts 4-13 2-2 13, Julia Salmio 0-0 0-0 0, Amanda Carlton 0-0 0-0 0, Deanna Dotts 1-4 3-6 5. Totals 21-62 11-18 58.

SALT LAKE

Katie Walker 0-0 1-2 1, Haley Holmstead 1-7 0-2 2, Marissa Robbins 3-4 5-6 11, Sofia Hepworth 7-11 5-6 21, Malori Dixon 0-3 2-2 2, Ame' White 0-0 0-0 0, Megan Johnson 0-0 2-2 2, Alli Blake 3-8 3-8 9, Jami Mokofisi 3-5 6-8 12. Totals 17-38 24-36 60.

Halftime - SLCC 34-28. 3-point goals - NIC 5-18 (Divilbiss 1-3, Reynolds 1-4, Warbrick 0-1, Baker 0-3, Griffitts 3-7. SLCC 2-7 (Holmstead 0-2, Hepworth 2-2, Dixon 0-2, Blake 0-1). Rebounds - NIC 34 (Canitez 12). SLCC 30 (Hepworth 9). Assists - NIC 15 (Baker 5). SLCC 7 (Blake 3). Team fouls - NIC 23, SLCC 19. Fouled out - none.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Salt Lake 87

North Idaho 82

SALT LAKE CITY -

Sophomore Alfonzo Hubbard scored 25 points and had eight rebounds to lead the 20th-ranked Bruins past the 23rd-ranked Cardinals in a Scenic West Athletic Conference game.

Patrick McCollum hit a free throw with 25 seconds left to stretch the Bruins' lead to 85-82. NIC attempted to rally, but turned the ball as Tyrone White lost the ball with 8 seconds remaining. McCollum hit a pair of free throws late to seal the win for Salt Lake (21-5, 7-4 SWAC).

Tyrone White had 20 points and 10 rebounds, Michael Hale 20 points for NIC (20-6, 5-6), which plays Snow today at Ephraim.

"They were able to hit some shots down the stretch and we had our chances, but couldn't hit the shot when we needed it," NIC coach Jared Phay said. "We did a good job of taking care of the basketball and together played well offensively."

Snow defeated Southern Idaho 63-62 earlier Friday in other SWAC action.

NORTH IDAHO

DeAndre Taylor 4-7 0-0 9, Ameer Shamsud-din 2-7 2-2 6, Jake Owsley 0-2 0-0 0, Michael Hale 6-13 5-7 20, Idris Lasisi 2-7 0-0 5, Nick Fromm 3-3 0-0 6, Tyrone White 8-18 2-4 10, Abebe Dimissie 7-8 2-4 16, Petar Joksimovic 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 32-67 11-17 82.

SALT LAKE

Marquis Horne 0-0 0-0 0, LeSean Wilcox 0-4 0-0 0, Patrick McCollum 2-11 10-10 14, Jordan Bernardo 3-5 0-0 8, Jason Gamblin 8-12 5-6 21, Alfonzo Hubbard 11-17 2-3 25, Steven Liebert 1-1 1-2 3, Tommy Barrett 4-5 0-1 8, Given Kalpinde 2-8 2-2 6, Yi-Hsiang Chou 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 32-64 20-24 87.

Halftime - NIC 40-37. 3-point goals - NIC 7-25 (Taylor 1-4, Shamsud-din 0-3, Hale 3-5, Lasisi 1-5, White 2-7, Dimissie 0-1). SLCC 3-14 (Wilcox 0-3, McCollum 0-5, Bernardo 2-2, Hubbard 1-2, Kalpinde 0-2). Rebounds - NIC 35 (White 10). SLCC 39 (Hubbard 8). Assists - NIC 11 (White 2). SLCC 19 (McCollum, Bernardo 5). Team fouls - NIC 21, SLCC 16. Fouled out - Owsley.

SOFTBALL

North Idaho 10-3

South. Nevada 9-8

ST. GEORGE, Utah - The Cardinals split a Scenic West Athletic Conference doubleheader with the Coyotes. No details were reported.