North Idaho Christian girls clinch third straight MCL title
SPOKANE VALLEY - Balanced scoring and strong defense led the North Idaho Christian School girls to a 42-14 win over The Oaks in Spokane Valley, giving the Royals their third straight Mountain Christian League championship.
Grace Gwin scored eight points to lead the Royals (16-5, 9-0 MCL) as all 10 North Idaho Christian players scored in the game. Symone Pilgrim had six points and 10 rebounds, and Danica Kelly added five assists and six steals.
The Royals travel to Priest River on Thursday.
The Oaks 2 2 1 9 - 14
NICS 12 9 12 9 - 42
THE OAKS - Welch 0, E. Dykstra 3, Depaolo 3, Clancy 0, S. Dykstra 0, Reade 2, G. Dykstra 2, Love 0, Palpant 4.
NORTH IDAHO CHRISTIAN - Monaghan 3, Kelly 4, Pilgrim 6, Gwin 8, H. Malinauskeas 2, Daigle 2, Nelson 7, K. Malinauskeas 5, Connolly 3, Overturf 2.
Boys basketball
Kellogg 47, Lakeside 43
KELLOGG -- The host Wildcats avenged an earlier loss to the defending 1A Division II champions, outscoring the visiting Knights 13-5 in the fourth quarter on Monday night.
"It was tight throughout the game. We had a 20-18 lead at halftime, expanded on it a bit, then JJ Hall caught fire for them. He had 10 of his 16 points in the third quarter," Kellogg coach Mike Martin said. "They killed us on the glass in the third quarter and that's what got them back in the game."
The Wildcats (4-5), who lost 64-37 in Plummer earlier this season, responded behind senior Logan Jerome, who had eight of his 16 points in the final period. Jerome's 3-pointer put Kellogg ahead 40-38, and Wildcats made 6-of-9 fourth-quarter free throws to close out the victory.
Kolby Luna scored 12 points for Kellogg and his brother, Riley, had seven points, five steals and four assists.
Darren Higgins scored 14 points and Vander Brown added 10 for Lakeside (10-2), which hosts Genesis Prep on Friday.
Lakeside 10 8 20 5 - 43
Kellogg 6 14 14 13 - 47
LAKESIDE - L. Matt 0, Brown 10, Abuan 0, Higgins 14, Sijohn 0, Q. Hall 0, J. Hall 16, C. Matt 3.
KELLOGG - R. Luna 7, K. Luna 12, Groves 0, Fohlich 8, Walker 4, Jerome 16.
The Oaks 82, North Idaho Christian 67
SPOKANE VALLEY - Playing short-handed, the Royals were unable to reverse their result from one week earlier, allowing the Oaks to claim the Mountain Christian League title with Monday night's victory.
North Idaho Christian center Malachi Bullington injured his knee in last week's loss to The Oaks, and will miss the rest of the season, NICS coach Shawn Thompson said.
Noah Palpant (19 points) and Isaiah Guillen (18 points) led five Oaks players in double-figures. Their team finished 9-1 in MCL play
Kessler Johnson scored 14 points to lead the Royals (7-2 MCL), who play at Covenant Christian tonight.
The Oaks 21 24 18 19 - 82
NICS 19 20 12 16 - 67
THE OAKS - Shubin 0, Harken 10, Palpant 19, Guillen 18, Cook 0, Krentel 4, Christensen 15, Kim 16.
NORTH IDAHO CHRISTIAN - Desrochers 13, Pilgrim 7, Smith 0, McKee 9, Alliano 13, Mitchell 0, Bryan 0, Johnson 14, Grassi 5, Sakae 6.