5A REGION 1 GIRLS BASKETBALL: Vikings tell a story ... Coeur d'Alene start fast, knock off Lake City for second straight regional title

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

After not scoring in Friday’s regional opener, Coeur d’Alene senior guard Maddie Mitchell was just hoping that she’d get going at some point in Tuesday’s 5A Region 1 girls basketball championship game.

She did, and her teammates followed shortly thereafter.

Mitchell hit a 3-pointer to open the scoring for the Vikings, who never trailed in a 50-31 win over the Lake City Timberwolves at Lake City High, clinching a second straight regional title and a berth to state starting next Thursday at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa.

“I was praying for that first shot to go in,” Mitchell said. “Usually my first shot of the game really sets the tone for the rest of the game, so I was very blessed to hit it and just keep shooting the rest of the game.”

Senior Teagan Colvin, a UNLV signee, scored 12 of her game-high 20 points in the first half for Coeur d’Alene (17-5), which had lost twice in the regular season to Lake City (21-2). Colvin, who broke her right hand during the Tarkanian Classic, played in the Fight for the Fish spirit game on Jan. 12, then missed the Jan. 22 rematch at Coeur d’Alene High.

“Teagan is just a game changer for us,” Coeur d'Alene coach Nicole Symons said. “She’s got the dog in her that we need. She knows when to score and when to pass. Her defense, that’s what some people don’t realize about her is that her defense off the ball and rebounding is the best in the state. It’s good to get her back and healthy.”

It was a season-low in points scored for Lake City, which hosts Post Falls in the second-place game on Thursday at 6:30 p.m.

“It’s been a season of a lot of adversity and a lot of ups and downs,” said Symons, in her fifth season. “But I told the girls this is the story we’re going to tell at the end of the season, if you keep working through some stuff. It really wasn’t anything the coaching staff did. They decided to take it upon themselves to really play Viking defense, and that was the difference in the game tonight."

Post Falls (8-14) eliminated Lewiston (7-16) with a 60-58 win at The Arena in a loser-out game.

Coeur d’Alene 50, Lake City 31: Mitchell scored 12 points, all on 3-pointers for Coeur d’Alene.

“Maddie Mitchell, that was the most solid performance I’ve seen her play,” Symons said. “I challenged her a little bit on the defensive end, and she was locked in and focused. Our girls knew their assignments. Kelsey Carroll has been solid for us in each and every game. When we were missing pieces and sick, someone stepped up. We’re still facing some stuff, but they just persevere and they go.”

Coeur d’Alene made 10 3-pointers on the night, compared to five for Lake City.

“We came out and hit some shots and big 3s when we needed to, and played the best defense we’ve played all season,” Symons said. “We’ve just got to keep that going. But tonight, it was amazing.”

“We’ve been going through some struggles a little bit with injuries,” Teagan Colvin said. “We just came out focused on defense and wanted to jump the gun and get the lead on them right from the start. We just felt that if we could get the lead early and kind of flip the switch we could get them.”

Teams won’t find out their opponent at state until the conclusion of state play-in games on Saturday, with seedings, based on MaxPreps rankings, scheduled to be released next Monday. Lake City is the top-ranked team in 5A and Coeur d’Alene is fourth.

It was the sixth straight year the teams had faced off in the regional title game, and Coeur d’Alene won for the fourth time, and second time on Lake City's floor. Coeur d’Alene won last year at home en route to the state 5A championship. Lake City’s last title came in 2022 at Viking Court. Lake City did not qualify for state last year, losing a state play-in game.

Senior Avery Waddington, who has signed with Montana, scored 11 points for Lake City, whose previous season low in points was 44 in a loss to Rocky Mountain of Meridian.

“They were just more physical than we were,” first-year Lake City coach David Pratt said. “They were kind of able to do whatever they wanted to do physically. And we kind of folded. We normally play a lot more physical than that, and they were just more physical.”

Lake City swept Post Falls in the regular season.

“We just don’t want to be done,” Pratt said. “The girls want to keep fighting and want to get it done. We’ve got practice tomorrow, and we’re going to get after it.”

Coeur d’Alene    11    11    17    11    —    50

Lake City    3    9    9    10    —    31

COEUR d’ALENE — T. Colvin 20, Mitchell 12, Bridge 3, Wallis 3, B. Colvin 0, K. Holecek 8, Larson 0, Shafer 0, Carroll 4.

LAKE CITY — Murphey 0, Frazey 5, Pickford 0, Kolden 1, Zufelt 8, Waddington 11, Zimmerman 6.

Post Falls 60, Lewiston 58: The host Trojans built a 16-point lead after one quarter at The Arena at Post Falls, then needed a basket by sophomore Kailey Walton with a minute left to break a 56-all tie and keep their season alive.

“I was afraid of that,” Post Falls coach Brian Hall said of his team’s fast start. “Sometimes you get ahead of a team like that, you get complacent.”

Senior Brooklynn Brennan scored 11 of her game-high 23 points in the first quarter for Post Falls (8-14). Walton finished with 11 points, Katie Berg 10 points and seven rebounds, Leti Asper eight boards.

After Walton’s go-ahead basket, Kinlee McLean hit two free throws for a four-point Trojan lead.

“Great effort by the whole team to sneak by,” Hall said. 

Reese DeGroot, one of eight juniors for Lewiston (7-16), scored 13 of her 21 points in the second half

Lewiston    8    17    23    10    —    58

Post Falls    24    13    14    9    —    60

LEWISTON — Delich 4, Albright 12, Van Trease 2, E. McKarcher 0, A. McKarcher 10, Lathen 7, Kessinger 0, DeGroot 21, Holman 0, Balmer 2.

POST FALLS — McLean 7, Berg 10, Brennan 23, Hollenbeck 0, Nipp-Berger 0, Asper 6, Mitley 0, Walton 11, Johnson 0, Felix 0, Wilcox 0, Allen 3.

    JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Lake City senior Avery Waddington attempts to pry the ball from Coeur d'Alene freshman Brookeslee Colvin during the second half of Tuesday's 5A Region 1 girls basketball championship game at Lake City High.