NIC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cold shooting costs Cards bid for Final 4 in season-ending loss to Lane
Photo by DANIEL ACOSTA Kaylee Banks of North Idaho College splits Lane defenders Laini Dahlin, left, and Bella Hamel to put up a shot during an Northwest Athletic Conference women's basketball tournament Elite 8 game Friday at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Wash.
PASCO, Wash. — There’s a reason why Lane Community College was the top-ranked team in the Northwest Athletic Conference by the league's coaches for a good portion of the regular season.
Along those lines, there was a reason why the North Idaho College women were in the Elite 8 as well.
On Friday, the clock ran out on the Cardinals.
NIC shot 15 of 58 from the field, falling 58-42 to the Titans of Eugene, Ore., at Columbia Basin College.
“We did some good things defensively,” said first-year NIC coach Nathan Covill, whose team trailed 29-24 at halftime. “We held them under 60 (points), which was our goal. But when you shoot 17% in the third quarter, you don’t give yourselves a chance.”
Laney Smith, a sophomore from Post Falls High, had nine points off the bench for NIC, which shot 3 of 17 in the third. Meghan Calley, a redshirt freshman from Highland of in Pocatello, also scored nine.
Freshman Solei Elletson gave NIC its first lead at 7-5 on a jumper in the first quarter. NIC regained the advantage on a 3-pointer by sophomore Sorrell Aldendorf at 10-9 before Lane closed the quarter on a 5-0 run.
NIC never led again.
“We fought hard,” Covill said. “We were down 11 and crawled back into it at halftime. When you’re playing good defense, it’s great. But you’ve got to reward yourself with some made baskets. And Lane’s a good team defensively as well.”
Lane (30-1), which won the South Region, will face Peninsula (22-4) in a semifinal game next Saturday at 3 p.m.
Peninsula advanced after beating Walla Walla 68-60 in the other Elite 8 game.
NIC (17-12), the third seed from the East Region, won seven of its final nine games to advance to the conference tournament, then beat South Puget Sound 67-55 on Thursday in the Sweet 16 to advance.
“We just kind of buckled down and did what we wanted to achieve,” Covill said of the end of the season. “Credit to the girls. They figured out how to win on the defensive end and I learned a lot over the last eight to nine months. We’ll reflect, learn from this and look to improve next year.”
NORTH IDAHO
Sorrell Aldendorf 3-10 0-0 7, Solei Elletson 3-8 0-1 7, Addie Kiefer 1-7 0-0 2, Paige Beem 2-8 4-4 8, Kaylee Banks 0-10 0-0 0, Katie Blume 0-0 0-0 0, Laney Smith 3-9 1-2 9, Meghan Calley 3-6 0-0 9. Totals 15-58 5-7 42.
LANE
Toni Coleman 3-7 2-2 8, Morgan Cooper 0-2 0-0 0, Chloe Daniels 5-7 0-2 10, Bella Hamel 4-13 0-0 8, Sierra Scheppele 4-12 6-6 18, Teryn Powers 0-0 0-0 0, Laini Dahlin 2-5 1-2 5, Sarah Ball 4-5 0-0 9, Payton Sheridan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 9-12 58.
North Idaho 10 14 8 10 — 42
Lane 14 15 16 13 — 58
3-point goals — NIC 7-23 (Aldendorf 1-4, Elletson 1-2, Banks 0-5, Smith 2-6, Calley 3-6), Lane 5-21 (Coleman 0-1, Cooper 0-1, Daniels 0-1, Hamel 0-5, Sheppele 4-11, Dahlin 0-1, Ball 1-1). Rebounds — NIC 27 (Kiefer 8), Lane 35 (Hammel 12). Assists — NIC 7 (Banks, Kiefer 2), Lane 11 (Hamel 6). Team fouls — NIC 14, Lane 13. Fouled out — Daniels. Technical fouls — NIC 2.