PREP BASKETBALL: Lovett wills Trojan girls back to state
• GIRLS
GRANGEVILLE — With the clock running out in Saturday’s state 5A play-in game against Rocky Mountain High of Meridian, Post Falls coach Marc Allert told senior Dylan Lovett just what he thought of her performance.
“That’s what seniors do.”
Lovett had 25 points and seven steals as the Trojans, the third seed in the Region 1 tournament advanced to state with a 57-42 win over the Grizzlies at Grangeville High.
“I’m very proud of her,” Allert said of Lovett. “The last couple of games, she’s willed us to win and that’s the way she’s been playing. She was fantastic today and played her usual good defensive game, but hit three 3’s and went 8 for 10 from the foul line. She just doesn’t want to quit playing, and she’s bringing the rest of us along with her.”
Post Falls (14-7) opens at state on Thursday against Rigby (19-3) at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa starting at 6 p.m. PST. The Trojans lost to Rigby 60-35 on Dec. 28.
Post Falls fell behind 29-24 to start the second half, but rallied behind a pair of three-pointers by Lovett to regain the lead.
Junior Hanna Christensen had eight points and seven rebounds and juniors Trinidie Nichols seven rebounds off the bench for Post Falls.
Freshman Cianna Legasbi scored 19 points for Rocky Mountain (8-12), which entered the District 3 tournament as the ninth seed.
“We just kind of regrouped and a bit and that helped us get going again,” Allert said. “After we got behind, we started attacking the basket and got to the foul line. Trinidie (Nichols) did a good job of taking Cianna away in the second half, and that made a difference. Hanna did a great job and played well for us as well. It was a great team win.”
Post Falls 15 9 10 23 — 57
Rocky Mountain 6 15 7 14 — 42
POST FALLS — McLean 0, Nichols 0, Lovett 25, Grant 0, Sims 5, Buckley 2, Asper 3, Crane 3, Magnuson 7, Walton 0, Blake 4, Christensen 8, Brennen 0, SiJohn 0, Chase 0.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN — Church 3, Tannaci 6, Lee 3, Anderson 0, Wright 2, Legasbi 19, Reed 9.
Bonners Ferry 51
Weiser 40
GRANGEVILLE — The Badgers (14-7), seeded third in the District 1 tournament, won their third road game of the playoffs this week, beating the Wolverines (11-13) in a state 3A play-in game at Grangeville High.
Bonners Ferry will face Sugar-Salem (22-1) in the opening round at state on Thursday at 1 p.m. (PST) at Middleton High.
• BOYS
St. Maries 69
Timberlake 41
SPIRIT LAKE — Eli Gibson led five Lumberjack players in double figures with 17 points in a nonleague win over the Tigers at Timberlake High.
“We really tried to focus on getting 32 good minutes tonight,” St. Maries coach Bryan Chase said. “We’re starting to get healthy and had a lot of guys contribute.”
Colby Renner scored 13 points, Brett Stancil had 11 points, four steals and three assists, Tristan Gentry 10 points and 10 rebounds and Randie Becktel — coming off a torn labrum — scored 10 points.
“Randie’s a solid defensive player,” Chase said. “Once we get him back into game shape, it’s going to make a difference with our depth.”
Taylor Menti scored 14 points for Timberlake.
“Taylor hit some big 3-pointers to get us moving,” Timberlake coach Mike Menti said. “St. Maries is so balanced, so they’re pretty tough to figure out. They’re well coached and are going to go far.”
On Tuesday, St. Maries (18-1) hosts Genesis Prep and Timberlake (5-12) hosts Kellogg.
St. Maries 19 25 19 6 — 69
Timberlake 7 12 15 7 — 41
ST. MARIES — Sands 0, Ross 4, Becktel 10, Gentry 10, Stancil 11, Elliott 2, Gibson 17, Ledbetter 0, Car. Wicks 2, Renner 13.
TIMBERLAKE — Olivieri 3, Riley 4, Tay. Menti 14, Paslay 2, Yetter 5, Millsap 0, Higgins 8, Simpson 3, Swenson 2.