Everything goes Sandpoint's way on senior night
SANDPOINT — Midway through the second quarter, Priest River forward Abby Barnes nearly intercepted an entry pass intended for Sandpoint guard Maddie Morgan.
Just as Barnes fought to corral the steal, Sandpoint senior forward — and Barnes’s former teammate — Natalie Petit came from behind and tipped the ball out to Dawson Driggs, who drove to the basket and drew a foul.
It was just that kind of night for Sandpoint. Whenever momentum teetered towards Priest River’s way, seniors Petit and Lillian Anderson made the right plays or grabbed crucial rebounds to put away the Priest River Spartans in a 50-8 win on senior night at Les Rogers Court.
“The younger girls really wanted to come out and play well for our seniors tonight,” Sandpoint coach Will Love said. “And our girls were able to do that.”
Sandpoint (4-13) used a new look on defense to hold Priest River (1-13) to two field goals on the night — both of which came in the first quarter. By extending its defense and letting guards Izzo Edwards and Kaylee Banks turn up the intensity, Sandpoint also held Priest River to a season-low 8 points, including a scoreless second quarter.
“We noticed in past games that we’d sit back on defense and allow teams to go where they wanted to go and do what they wanted to do,” Love said. “So we have focused on extending our defense and having our guards get out there and harass people.”
While the Bulldogs did their job on defense, the offense fell into place: Junior guard Kaylee Banks scored a season-high 14 points, including all seven of Sandpoint’s third-quarter points. Morgan added 12 points off the bench.
Karah Fink had five points and three rebounds.
Sandpoint returns to 4A Inland Empire League play by hosting Lakeland on Tuesday. Priest River hosts Timberlake on Tuesday.
Priest River 4 0 1 3 — 8
Sandpoint 11 17 7 15 — 50
PRIEST RIVER — Kren 2, Fitzmorris 0, Barnes 1, Minish 0, Fink 5, Martin 0, Palfrey 0, Rusho 0.
SANDPOINT — Driggs 8, Banks 14, Anderson 0, Larson 0, Petit 0, Morgan 12, Edwards 8, Lish 2, Steiger 2, Phillips 4.
Timberlake 58
Kellogg 26
KELLOGG — Taryn Soumas scored 16 of her game-high 18 points in the first half, leading the Timberlake Tigers past the Kellogg Wildcats 58-26 in an Intermountain League game at Andrews Gymnasium on Saturday.
McKeeley Tonkin scored 16 points for IML champion Timberlake (17-2, 5-0 IML), which travels to Priest River to conclude the regular season on Tuesday.
Hailey Cheney scored nine points for Kellogg (8-9, 2-3), which hosts Bonners Ferry on Tuesday.
Timberlake 17 21 14 6 — 58
Kellogg 6 4 12 4 — 26
TIMBERLAKE — Tonkin 16, Soumas 18, Suko 7, Kronenberg 3, Carhart 0, Sande 0, Jessen 11, Jeffs 2, Willis 1.
KELLOGG — Bristow 0, Rauenhorst 2, VanHoose 0, Senteney 1, Sheppard 2, Brandt 5, Cheney 9, Seymour 4, Nearing 3.
Grangeville 49
St. Maries 41
GRANGEVILLE — The host Bulldogs (13-7, 3-0 Central Idaho League) wrapped up the league title with the victory over the Lumberjacks (11-6, 2-2).
No other information was available.
Hellgate 69
Genesis Prep 26
MISSOULA, Mont. — Rachel Schroeder scored 17 points to lead the visiting Jaguars (8-10), who had a rough go of it against the Knights.
“We had a tough night shooting, and played against a team that is playing really well right now,” Genesis Prep coach Brandon Haas said. “I’m happy with our effort and where we are.”
Genesis Prep plays at St. Maries on Thursday.
Genesis Prep 5 5 6 10 — 26
Hellgate 19 17 21 12 — 69
GENESIS PREP — Morrow 2, Schroeder 17, Greiner 0, Martinez 1, Nies 0, Neely 0, Murekatete 4, Blood 2, Kim 0.
HELLGATE — Heaphy 5, Arledge 6, Sayler 11, Dick 7, Davis 8, Walker-Kelener 7, Lunday 11, P. Paffhausen 11, L. Paffhausen 5.