THE FRONT ROW with JASON ELLIOTT: Tests coming at area programs already

You’ve got to hand it to some of the area high school sports teams right now. 

The challenges are coming fast and furiously as the miles add up through the month of December. 

And sure, the results are a little hit and miss at the moment, but it’s a process. 

LAST WEEKEND, area high school girls basketball teams from Coeur d’Alene, Lake City and Post Falls ventured to the Boise area to take on Rocky Mountain, Eagle and Meridian on consecutive nights. 

Both Lake City and Post Falls went 1-2 against their District 3 opponents, with Coeur d’Alene beating both Rocky Mountain and Meridian. 

A few weeks prior, Boise, Owyhee and Mountain View came here for a series of games. 

For Post Falls, which returned two players with varsity experience, it’s been a bit of a growing season under new coach Mike Divilbiss thus far. 

That being said. 

“We’ll keep growing and fighting to get better,” said Divilbiss after last Saturday’s game at Eagle. “We’re a long way from being one of the best three teams in the state, and we’ve played the other two (Boise and Owyhee).” 

From last year’s state runner-up, Lake City returned two players on a team that outlasted Lakeland, a team that advanced to last year’s state 4A semifinals last year, at home in its second game of the season. 

“The girls have continued to play hard,” said Lake City coach David Pratt after a Dec. 6 game against Eagle. “We picked up our intensity and scored the ball really well. The way we closed out the fourth quarter was good to end the game on a positive note.” 

Before Lake City takes a little bit of a holiday break, the Timberwolves will host Timberlake, a contender for the state 4A title this year that entered Friday’s game at Frenchtown (Mont.) unbeaten at 7-0. 

The Tigers will face both Lake City and Coeur d’Alene (Jan. 3), with those games coming on the road. 

Timberlake also has wins over Inland Empire League schools Lewiston, Moscow and Sandpoint this season. 

Coeur d’Alene will take both its boys and girls basketball teams to the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas next week. The girls, who have won two straight state championships, will be in the Diamond Bracket with the likes of Owyhee, Sierra Canyon, Calif., Democracy Prep in Las Vegas. 

IT SHOULDN’T come as much of a surprise that after a quick glance of the team scores at the annual Tri-State Invitational, the top 20 was flooded with a few local programs. 

At 4:30 p.m., Orting (Wash.) led with 168 points, followed by Post Falls in second with 149. Coeur d’Alene was ninth with 89, Lake City tied for 15th with 63, Kellogg 17th with 62 and Lakeland 19th with 61. 

On Wednesday, Coeur d’Alene, Lake City, Lakeland and Kellogg competed at Coeur d’Alene High in a pair of duals. Coeur d’Alene and Lake City didn’t dual, but it’s very likely that they’ll cross paths somewhere today during a round or two at Tri-State. 

Lake City opened the season with a win at the Owen Invitational in Polson last weekend. 

“To have kids ready to be at that level of Tri-State in the second weekend of the season, it’s a challenge,” Lake City coach Corey Owen said. “It’s something we’re going to have to be smart about to have them ready to compete at a higher level quicker than normal.” 

WHO KNOWS, maybe these challenges will be a good thing come the end of the season for more than a few programs.

If teams know they’ve got to get on the gas earlier, I’m sure they can find again when that time comes again. 

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for The Press. He can be reached by telephone at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at jelliott@cdapress.com. Follow him on ‘X’, formerly Twitter @JECdAPress.