Viks hurdle Lewiston, keep state hopes alive
COEUR d'ALENE - The road to the state 5A girls basketball tournament was going to be a tough one for whoever won the second-place game in the Region 1 tournament.
For the Coeur d'Alene Vikings - who eliminated the two-time defending state champion Lewiston Bengals with a 46-38 win Thursday night at Elmer Jordan Court, it might have gotten tougher.
Senior forward Kendalyn Brainard, who recently signed a letter of intent to play basketball at the University of Great Falls, could miss the remainder of the season after a major sprain of her left ankle (suffered Jan. 25) forced her into a cast.
With Brainard out of the lineup, sophomore Tabitha Wellsandt stepped into the starting lineup for Coeur d'Alene.
"It's a different shakeup," Coeur d'Alene coach Dale Poffenroth said. "Tabby and Sara (Chalich) played so well against Post Falls (on Tuesday) that it was worth a gamble to see if they could do the same tonight. I think they came through and did a fine job. Tabby came in and did a good job in her first start, wasn't nervous and didn't make any dumb turnovers and throw the ball away. Sara did a good job when she was in there and they both filled in for Kendalyn adequately."
Coeur d’Alene (18-5) will face Boise (12-12) in a state play-in game on Saturday at Grangeville High.
Lewiston led most of the first half until a jumper by Madison Sumner gave Coeur d’Alene a 22-21 halftime lead. The Vikings outscored Lewiston 12-3 — keyed by a 3-pointer by senior Caelyn Orlandi to start a 9-3 run — to take a 34-24 lead after the third quarter.
“We were running the floor a lot tonight,” Orlandi said. “They’re a great basketball team, but everyone just pitched in and did something tonight. I was the only senior on the floor, but everyone does something that’s threatening on the court, whether it’s Brittany (Tackett) going left or our shooters and drivers — that’s what makes us really good.”
Lewiston pulled within 41-36 on a 3-pointer by Karlee Wilson with less than two minutes remaining, but Coeur d’Alene closed out the game at the free-throw line.
“The Lewiston kids played hard, but just ran out of adrenaline in the third quarter,” Poffenroth said. “It took us a while to get into sync of what we should be doing on offense and what they were doing on defense. At halftime, the kids said they really wanted to go to state and worked hard defensively in the second half.”
Sydney Williams scored 12 points and Sumner added 11 for Coeur d’Alene — which has advanced to the last eight state tournaments — playing for the championship six times.
Emilee Schlader scored 15 points for Lewiston, which finishes 16-7. The Bengals played in the last three state title games — losing to Coeur d’Alene in 2010.
“Our kids put a lot of time and effort into the season and it’s tough to see the season end,” Lewiston coach Pat Teichmer said. “It’s been a while since our season didn’t end with a celebration. Coeur d’Alene came out and played with some poise and got us into mistakes and took advantage of it.”
Lewiston 13 8 3 14 — 38
Coeur d’Alene 10 12 12 12 — 46
LEWISTON — K. Wilson 7, Weeks 0, L. Wilson 5, K. Schlader 0, Teichmer 0, E. Schlader 15, Hobart 4, Wells 1, Lohman 0, White 2, Hastings 4.
COEUR d’ALENE — Parker 5, Sumner 11, Chalich 2, Orlandi 7, Tackett 7, Wellsandt 2, Williams 12.