Coeur d'Alene boys, Lake City girls roll

COEUR d’ALENE — Experience, a pressure defense and outside shooting were more than enough for the Coeur d’Alene Viking boys basketball team Friday night.

Drew Hostetter hit four of Coeur d’Alene’s eight 3-pointers, and led the Vikings (9-3) with 18 points in a 60-31 rout of the Lake City Timberwolves (2-10) in the boys’ Fight for the Fish spirit game Friday night at Coeur d’Alene High’s Viking Court.

“This was one of our better games,” Coeur d’Alene coach Tony Hanna said. “We’ve got some guys that can knock down shots.”

In the girls’ game, Lake City (15-2, 3-0 5A IEL) won its 11th straight, using a full-court press to build an early lead, and a strong inside game later to enhance it in a 59-39 victory over the Vikings (5-7, 2-1) in a game pitting teams tied for the league lead.

Bridget Rieken had 17 points and seven rebounds for Lake City, and Brooklyn Rewers had 13 points, nine boards and six blocked shots.

The 21st edition of the spirit games were played were played in Coeur d’Alene’s new gym for the first time, and attracted a capacity crowd of 2,400.

After the boys game, judges awarded the Fish to Lake City High, the ninth straight year the T-Wolves won the spirit competition.

BOYS

Coeur d’Alene 60, Lake City 31: The Timberwolves have an almost entirely new team this year, and the Vikings gave them a quick introduction to the Fish game with full-court pressure right off the bat.

Coeur d’Alene scored the game’s first eight points, holding Lake City scoreless for nearly 3 1/2 minutes. The T-Wolves had 12 of their 17 turnovers in the first half, mostly against the press.

“I thought our pressure was really good,” Hanna said. “I thought our guys flew around, and I thought we did a good job doing that without fouling. We knew they were young, knew there was going to be some nerves.”

Sophomore Jack Kiesbuy, the lone Lake City player with much returning experience, led all scorers with 22 points. He scored 16 of Lake City’s 17 first-half points, and finished 9 of 16 from the field.

The remainder of the Timberwolves were 2 of 23 from the field, and Lake City didn’t get a basket from someone other than Kiesbuy until 2 1/2 minutes into the third quarter.

“We have one guy that’s played in that (environment) before,” Lake City coach Jim Winger said. “Coeur d’Alene deserves a lot of credit — they played free and easy, and we were uptight. Jack played a heck of a game, but if you take his stats out ... ”

Coeur d’Alene hit 4 of 16 3s in the first half and led 33-17 at halftime. The Vikings opened it up in the third quarter, hitting four 3s (in 10 tries), two by Hostetter.

Many chipped in for Coeur d’Alene. Mayson Blakeley-Whittaker added eight points, Carter Friesz and Connor King seven points each, Kale Edwards six points, eight rebounds and two steals. Hostetter had four boards and two assists, Devon Johnson six points, six rebounds and two assists.

All told, the Vikings, ranked fifth in 5A by the state’s media, were 8 for 28 from behind the arc.

“It was nice to see a few more fall in the second half,” Hanna said. “In the second half, the guys were more comfortable.”

“I’m disappointed we lost, but there’s a long ways to go,” Winger said.

On Tuesday, Lake City travels to Post Falls, and Coeur d’Alene visits Lewiston.

Lake City 9 8 13 1 — 31

Coeur d’Alene 20 13 17 10 — 60

LAKE CITY — Stellflug 3, Janke 1, Kiesbuy 22, Spellman 0, Sallis 0, Hanson 5, Sundstrom 0, Brum 0.

COEUR d’ALENE — McLaughlin 0, Blakeley-Whittaker 8, Johnson 6, Karns 2, Friesz 7, Linehan 0, King 7, Hostetter 18, Margo 6, Meade 0, Edwards 6.

GIRLS

Lake City 59, Coeur d’Alene 39: Lake City used a 3/4-court trap to open up a 9-0 lead and kept Coeur d’Alene scoreless for the first five minutes.

Lake City led by as much as 14 points in the first half but Coeur d’Alene showed some spunk, pulling within nine points at halftime.

The T-Wolves, ranked No. 2 in 5A in Idaho by the state’s media, pushed the lead out to 16 in the third quarter, only to see the Vikings get it down to 10 later in the quarter.

“I thought we were a little slower to make the reads that we typically make,” Lake City coach James Anderson said. “We were lucky in the first quarter — our defense saved us.”

If Rieken and Rewers weren’t enough trouble for Coeur d’Alene inside, reserve post Sara Muehlhausen added eight points for Lake City.

Rieken and Dejah Wilson (ankle) were shaken up in Friday’s game, and Anderson praised point guard Chloe Teets for gutting it out after suffering a hip pointer in Tuesday’s win at Lewiston.

“I really love this team — they’re so resilient,” Anderson said. “Give credit to Coeur d’Alene, they kept coming back. But every time there was a momentum shift, our seniors stepped up.”

Kelly Horning had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Coeur d’Alene, and freshman guard Skylar Burke added six points and 11 rebounds. Tori Younker had six points on a pair of 3s for the Vikings, her playing time limited by foul trouble.

“I was actually really proud of the kids,” Coeur d’Alene coach Scott Stockwell said. “The last couple of years, we struggled when we’d get pressured. A lot of our turnovers tonight were kind of a foggy brain by us.”

Coeur d’Alene plays host to Lakeland today at 2.

Lake City travels to Post Falls on Tuesday.

Lake City 13 13 18 15 — 59

Coeur d’Alene 2 15 11 11 — 39

LAKE CITY — Pickford 4, Avery 0, Muehlhausen 8, Mitchell 4, Teets 6, Rieken 17, Miller 0, Littman 0, Wilson 5, Rewers 13, Jenkins 2, Hawkins 0.

COEUR d’ALENE — Brennan 0, Minerath 10, Brainard-Adams 2, Whiteman 2, Matheson 2, Younker 6, Chavez 0, Horning 11, Kane 0, Zanetti 0, Munoz 0, Burke 6.