PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL: Late run fits Lake City to a 'T' ... After technical foul on Timberwolf coach, Lake City goes on run to finish off Coeur d'Alene, wrap up IEL title and top seed to 5A regionals

COEUR d’ALENE — Technically speaking, it changed the game.

And as a result, maybe the road to the state 5A girls basketball tournament for both Lake City and Coeur d’Alene High.

Following a technical foul on Lake City coach David Pratt, the Timberwolves went on an 8-0 run spanning the final 1:12 of the third quarter into the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, pulling away for a 59-47 win over the Coeur d’Alene Vikings at Viking Court to clinch the Inland Empire League title and home-court advantage for the 5A Region 1 tournament starting next Friday.

Lake City (19-1, 8-0 IEL) wraps up the regular season Jan. 29 at home vs. Post Falls. Coeur d’Alene (13-5, 4-3) travels to Post Falls on Thursday.

Coeur d’Alene, which trailed most of the game, regained the lead at 40-39 with 1:12 left in the third quarter on a pair of free throws by freshman Brookeslee Colvin. 

Senior Sophia Zufelt started the Lake City run with a steal and layup to give the Timberwolves a 41-40 lead. Zufelt extended the lead to 45-40 at the third-quarter buzzer.

“I knew that we’d respond,” Zufelt said. “We just had to do our job and we kind of went off script, which isn’t us. But we got it done.”

“It was a little bit of the anxiousness of the game,” Pratt said. “I got a little excited, and that’s on me. I apologized for it and we moved on.”

Lake City is seeking its first regional title since the 2021 season, when the Timberwolves beat Coeur d’Alene as the second seed to advance to state.

“We get a bigger fanbase at home, so it’s good to get a few more games there,” Zufelt said. “We’re just really excited to get this done.”

Senior KaLiah Frazey and Zufelt scored 14 points each for Lake City, the No. 1 team in the latest state 5A girls basketball media poll.

“The seniors I inherited are such a good group,” Pratt said. “KaLiah stepped up big today and was fantastic hitting some shots. It was a good collective deal and they played great defense around each other.”

Coeur d’Alene junior Kelsey Carroll scored 14 points, sophomore Karissa Wallis 12. Coeur d'Alene was without senior point guard Teagan Colvin, out with a broken right hand suffered in the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas in December.

“Our girls played fast, they play hard,” Coeur d’Alene coach Nicole Symons said. “We’re right there. We’re a few defensive rotations away from giving them a better game. We’re a little inexperienced in some areas. You play them three times, so you’ve got to figure out what works. We’ve got to work on some defensive rotations and do a better job of taking those 3s away. They’re a good team and used to playing with each other.”

Coeur d’Alene, which trailed 14-3 midway through the first quarter, rallied to take its first lead with 1:41 remaining in the third on a 3-pointer by Wallis, her fourth of the game.

“I thought we battled and played well,” Symons said. “Giving up four points going into the fourth quarter really hurt us. We just kind of lost some momentum there. We’re learning and getting better, and hopefully we’ll be playing our best basketball in a week and a half.”

Lake City    18    13    14    14    —    59

Coeur d’Alene    10    18    12    7    —     47

LAKE CITY — Murphey 2, Frazey 14, Pickford 10, Kolden 0, Zufelt 14, Waddington 11, Zimmerman 8.

COEUR d’ALENE — Mitchell 9, Wallis 12, B. Colvin 4, Lopez 5, K. Holecek 3, Carroll 14. 

Lakeland 56

Moscow 44

RATHDRUM — Lila Kiefer, one of three Hawks honored on senior night, had 16 points and 12 rebounds as Lakeland downed the Bears in Inland Empire League play at Bear Den.

Junior Landree Simon scored a game-high 20 points for Lakeland (6-8, 2-5 IEL), which also honored seniors Kyla Holte and Payton Sterling.

“It was a gritty win; proud of our girls,” Lakeland coach Tyrel Derrick said. “Moscow, they play tough, try to scrap it up, Proud of our girls for fighting through a tough game. They’ve grown a lot in their ability to win those gritty games.”

Jessa Skinner and Lola Johns scored nine points each for Moscow (7-9, 0-6).

Lakeland travels to Kellogg tonight at 7.

Moscow    9    10    9    16    —    44

Lakeland    18    7    17    14    —    56

MOSCOW — Knott 5, Lassen 6, Kiblen 2, Becker 2, Anderson 3, Skinner 9, Leituala 2, Johns 9, Skinner 3, Rauch 0, Tiegs 3.

LAKELAND — Simon 20, K. Kiefer 7, H. McMurray 0, Holte 4, L. Kiefer 16, Bretveld 6, Sterling 3, Vopat 0.

Kellogg 58

St. Maries 20

KELLOGG — Senior Macy Jerome scored 19 points and the host Wildcats jumped out to a 22-7 lead after one quarter en route to the Central Idaho League victory over the Lumberjacks at Andrews Gymnasium.

“We came out and forced a lot of turnovers in the first half, which translated into buckets for us,” Kellogg coach Jana Nearing said.

Senior Emily Coe, who was honored Monday after recently surpassing 500 career rebounds, added 12 points for Kellogg (9-7, 3-2 CIL), which finished with nine 3-pointers. Coe has averaged a double-double the past two seasons, Nearing said.

Raevyn Yearout scored eight points for St. Maries (2-12, 0-3), which travels to Orofino on Thursday.

Kellogg plays host to Lakeland tonight at 7.

St. Maries     7    4    5    4    —    20

Kellogg    22    15    19    11    —    58

ST. MARIES — Elliott 2, Timken 0, Martin 4, Baird 1, R. Yearout 8, Sindt 2, Janssen 0, Sloper 0, M. Yearout 0, Linnemeyer 1, Boyett 2.

KELLOGG — Jerome 19, M. Groth 8, Schillereff 4, Coe 12, Karst 5, Stutzke 5, A. Groth 0, Bening 5, Dechand 0, Wilkinson 0.

    JASON DUCHOW PHOTOGRAPHY Kendall Holecek (23) of Coeur d'Alene puts up a shot as Sadie Zimmerman of Lake City defends on Monday night at Coeur d'Alene High's Viking Court.