NIC ROUNDUP: Cardinal volleyball wrap unbeaten run through East Region

• VOLLEYBALL

COEUR d’ALENE — Sophomore Rachael Stacey had 11 kills and 16 digs on sophomore night for North Idaho College, which capped an unbeaten run through the Northwest Athletic Conference’s East Region with a 25-20, 25-16, 25-13 sweep of the visiting Columbia Basin Hawks of Pasco at Christianson Gymnasium on Friday.

“I’m really proud of this group,” first-year NIC coach Brittany Tilleman said. “To be undefeated and East Region champions, we’re peaking at the right time. I’m excited to see what this team can do next.”

NIC (28-1, 16-0 NWAC) will host the East Bracket of the Northwest Athletic Conference Championships next Saturday and Sunday. NIC will face Everett (21-11), the No. 4 team from the North Region, next Saturday at 1 p.m.

Freshman Gracie Keisel had 15 kills, freshman Omayra Valle 23 digs and two aces, freshman Karolyne Wolfgramm 16 digs, 38 assists and three aces and sophomore Jessica Stires two blocks for NIC.

“This group has competed hard since Day 1,” Tilleman said. “And that’s what has helped us. We’ve had injuries and our twos, threes and even fours have come in and competed, played hard and been successful. It’s been the entire team, and that’s really cool to see.”

Columbia Basin (17-12, 9-7), the conference runner-up in 2022, will be the fourth seed from the East Region to the conference tournament.

• MEN'S BASKETBALL

Hutchinson 91

North Idaho 82

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Jalen Skalskiy, a sophomore from Lakeland High, had 14 points and seven rebounds after returning from an injury in the first-half for the Cardinals, who fell to the Blue Dragons at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.

“Having the back-to-back games really wore on us,” NIC coach Corey Symons said. “We didn’t play a lot of guys (Thursday), and the fatigue got to us in the second half. Hutchinson, they press you for 40 minutes and we turned the ball over 32 times, which is something that I’ve never seen in my time here.”

Austin Johnson and Vaughn Weems scored 16 points off the bench for NIC (1-1), which shot 26 of 65.

“We didn’t shoot the ball well, but we had a chance to win the game late,” Symons said. “This is why we scheduled these games to test our guys. We dropped it, but we’ll get better from it and move on.”

John-Paul Ricks and Kamryn Thomas scored 14 points for Hutchinson (1-0).

NORTH IDAHO

Jalen Skalskiy 6-12 1-3 14, Cobi Campbell 2-6 4-5 10, Dante Sawyer 1-10 6-7 8, Terin Johnson 5-6 3-4 13, Kyle Karstetter 0-6 0-0 0, Austin Johnson 4-11 6-6 16, D’Andre Clermont 0-1 0-0 0, Tayshawn Colvin 2-3 0-0 5, Bryce Henry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-65 23-32 82.

HUTCHINSON

DaDrevius Weathers 6-7 0-5 12, Valentino Simon 3-8 5-8 12, Zoe Holman 5-13 1-1 12, John Paul Ricks 4-7 3-4 13, Kamryn Thomas 5-12 1-2 14, Laden Wagler 0-5 0-0 0, Edwin Daniel 1-6 0-2 2, Dallas Whitney 2-9 1-3 5, Russell Branch 3-6 0-0 8, Keman Bundy 5-9 0-0 12, JoJo Adeoye 0-0 0-0 0, Kobe Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-82 11-25 91.

Halftime — Hutch 42-36. 3-point goals — NIC 7-26 (Skalskiy 1-5, Campbell 2-5, Sawyer 0-3, Karstetter 0-5, Johnson 2-6, Weems 1-1, Colvin 1-1), Hutch 12-37 (Simon 1-3, Holman 1-4, Ricks 3-6, Thomas 3-6, Wagler 0-5, Whitney 0-5, Branch 2-4, Bundy 2-4). Rebounds — NIC 57 (T. Johnson 14), Hutch 45 (Simon 8). Assists — NIC 15 (Skalskiy 4), Hutch 23 (Ricks 8). Team fouls — NIC 20, Hutch 24. Fouled out — none. Technical fouls — Skalskiy, Ricks, Hutchinson coach.

• WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Southern Idaho 75

North Idaho 53

TWIN FALLS — There were a few firsts for the Cardinals.

The first as a member of the NJCAA since 2016, as well as the season opener.

And the first — for now — of four looks at the Scenic West Conference rival Golden Eagles.

“There’s nothing better than a chance to see where we’re at,” said second-year NIC coach Nathan Covill after the Cardinals’ loss to the Golden Eagles. “We got down 8-2 early and fought back into it. With five minutes left, we were down 12 and kind of hit the bricks. CSI is deep and it kind of caught up with us.”

NIC freshman guard Deniece Ryan had 17 points, Maddie Williamson 10 rebounds for NIC.

“I’m really happy with how she played,” Covill said of Ryan. “Maddie did a good job on the glass and did some good things, but we’ve got to execute better. It’s just one game into the season, but gives us a good idea of where we need to be.”

Jamisyn Heaton had 20 points for CSI (2-0).

NIC faces Northwest College of Powell, Wyo., today at noon at the College of Southern Idaho.

NORTH IDAHO

Deniece Ryan 7-13 1-2 17, Kendall Pickford 2-12 0-0 5, Maddie Williamson 2-6 1-4 4, Addie Kiefer 1-3 0-0 3, Faye Davis 0-3 0-0 0, Tayler Adams 3-8 2-2 8, Kalysta Troman 3-7 0-0 8, Diana Morales 3-10 1-1 7, Iratxe Amorrortu 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 21-66 5-9 53.

SOUTHERN IDAHO

Jamisyn Heaton 7-14 5-6 20, Jayden McNeal 5- 3-6 13, Kaylee Hendrick 3-7 0-0 6, Makeilli Ika 1-5 1-2 4, Izzy Arave 0-5 2-2 2, Kayla Porray 4-6 0-0 11, Kennedy Gillette 3-8 1-1 9, Taylor Johnson 2-2 1-2 4, Mariah Mons 1-1 0-0 2, Kennedy Stenquist 1-2 0-0 2, Falon Bedke 0-2 2-2 2, Elena Birkeland 0-0 0-0 0, Brayli Jenks 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 27-64 14-19 75.

North Idaho        11    16    15    11    —    53

Southern Idaho    20    16    21    18    —    75

3-point goals — NIC 6-22 (Ryan 2-3, Pickford 1-7, Williamson 0-3, Kiefer 1-1, Adams 0-1 Troman 2-5, Morales 0-2), CSI 7-20 (Heaton 1-4, Headrick 0-2, Ika 1-3, Arave 0-2, Porray 3-3, Gillette 2-3, Jenks 0-3). Rebounds — NIC 39 (Williamson 10), CSI 49 (Headrick 16). Assists — NIC 5 (Pickford 2), CSI 15 (Heaton 4). Team fouls — NIC 11, CSI 16. Fouled out — none.