Cardinal women fade in second half
- WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
BELLEVUE, Wash. — Lake City High product Whitney Meier had 16 points, including 6-for-6 from the free-throw line for North Idaho College, but the Cardinals were outscored 22-10 in the fourth quarter of a 77-73 loss to the Bellevue College Bulldogs in the opening game of the Bellevue Classic on Friday night.
NIC led 50-33 at halftime, but managed just 23 points in the second half. NIC beat Bellevue 90-77 on Nov. 19 in its Tip-Off Classic at Rolly Williams Court in Coeur d’Alene.
“We played a good first half, but I think we lost our edge,” NIC coach Chris Carlson said. “We’re still learning how to put someone away, especially a good team like Bellevue. We played some great basketball in the first half, but it’s a 40-minute game. It’s a tough loss, but it will make us better.”
Cierra Dvorak had 12 points, five rebounds and three assists for NIC (3-1), which faces Highline today at 3 p.m.
Sierra Cole had 26 points for Bellevue (3-1).
NORTH IDAHO
Cierra Dvorak 4-11 2-2 12, Ronnie Harris 4-9 0-0 10, Zosha Krupa 4-12 1-2 11, Kelsey Auer 4-9 0-1 9, Sydney Hovde 1-5 2-2 4, Lana Berg 2-3 1-1 5, Abby Hamilton 0-1 0-0 0, Shae Logozzo 2-2 0-0 6, Shelby Jordan 0-1 0-0 0, Whitney Meier 4-12 6-6 16, Siera Combo 0-1 0-0 0, Gia Sorn 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-66 12-14 73.
BELLEVUE
Sierra Cole 10-18 2-2 26, Kassin Hopkins 4-11 1-2 11, Molly Dixon 3-15 4-5 11, Melinda Akoto 3-7 0-0 6, Brenda Akoto 4-5 9-10 17, Tiajane Tate 1-2 0-0 2, Jorie Lambert 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 27-62 16-19 77.
North Idaho 28 22 13 10 — 73
Bellevue 17 16 22 22 — 77
3-point goals — NIC 11-26 (Dvorak 2-4, Harris 2-3, Krupa 2-6, Auer 1-4, Logozzo 2-2, Meier 2-7), BC 7-15 (Cole 4-8, Hopkins 2-2, Dixon 1-4). Rebounds — NIC 32 (Dvorak, Auer, Jordan 5), BC 36 (M. Akoto, B. Akoto 8). Assists — NIC 10 (Dvorak, Harris 3), BC 15 (Dixon 6). Team fouls — NIC 23, BC 15. Fouled out — none. Technical fouls — NIC.
- WRESTLING
Trujillo goes 2-2 for NIC at Cliff Keen Invitational
LAS VEGAS — North Idaho College sophomore heavyweight Damian Trujillo was the top Cardinal finisher in the Cliff Keen Invitational, going 2-2 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
The tournament, which draws the top wrestlers from Division I, NAIA and NJCAA schools, concludes today.
“We want to come down here and wrestle the best of the best,” NIC coach Pat Whitcomb said. “We wrestled against guys from Michigan, Harvard and a lot of really good programs. Damian (who will have surgery on a torn meniscus this weekend) really wanted to wrestle in this tournament. I’m proud of him and the way he competed. He showed a lot of guts.”
Cody Warner, a 165-pound sophomore, went 1-2 for NIC, which hosts Montana State-Northern next Saturday at Christianson Gym.