North Idaho Elite reaches semis of 90-team tourney

SAN DIEGO — The North Idaho Elite high school girls basketball team won its first four games to reach the semifinals at the 90-team Midsummer Night’s Madness AAU tournament.

North Idaho Elite beat Triple Threat Black of Marietta, Calif., 46-25; TNT Phoenix of Chico, Calif., 53-30; Northwest Express Extreme based in Colfax, Wash., 49-25; and Alaska Lady Hoops of Eagle River, Alaska, 62-35.

North Idaho Elite, comprised of many of the top players in North Idaho, plays Cal Sparks Extreme of Clovis, Calif., in a semifinal game today at 9 a.m. A win would advance the Elite to the championship game at 12:45 p.m., possibly against the Spokane Stars Blue. The Stars face Columbia Cascades of Vancouver, Wash., in this morning’s other semifinal.

“Every tournament we go to, we end up in the finals or close to the finals against other teams from the Spokane area,” North Idaho Elite assistant coach Carey Carlson said. “We have really strong girls basketball in this area.”

Today’s games will mark the final ones with the Elite for juniors Keelie Lawler (Timberlake), Allison Kirby (Timberlake) and Nina Carlson (Lake City). They started with the Elite program in the fourth grade.