Badgers Get Bold, Trip Priest Bonners Ferry Makes State With 55-39 Win Over Spartans

The Bonners Ferry girls basketball team overcame its fears Saturday afternoon and is on its way to the State A-2 Tournament because of it.

The Badgers defeated Priest River 55-39 in an A-2 District I-II Tournament loser-out game at Post Falls High School, avenging a loss suffered earlier in the week.

“We played scared for two games earlier in the week,” Bonners Ferry coach Jim Nash said. “We were really together today; it was a moving experience.”

Both teams appeared nervous in the first quarter, and the turnovers stacked up. With 2:45 left in the period, Bonners Ferry guard Becky Bateman made a 15-foot jumper to make the score 6-6.

Bateman, who ended up with 15 points, then made a 3-pointer with time running out in the period to give the Badgers a 15-10 lead.

The second period showcased the talents of each team as the Badgers used tough interior defense to force the Spartans to shoot outside, where Katy Duley made two buckets on her way to 15 points.

On the other end of the floor, the Badgers continually used sharp passing to get easy interior points. Nash said inside play was the key to the offense.

“Anytime you get the inside open, the outside will open up also,” he said.

Priest River came out of the locker room ready to play in the second half. The Spartans got out to an 8-2 run to make the score 29-29. Nash quickly called timeout and his team responded with a Bateman-led run to go up by six at the end of the period.

Priest River never got close again as the Badgers used a trapping defense to force Spartans mistakes, and Bateman nailed another 3 to put the game away after the gap had closed to 40-35.

Priest River coach Ron Hopkins has seen steady improvement in his first three years as coach by winning two, five, and this year 12 games. “The cupboard is not bare; we’ve got some players coming back,” Hopkins said.

The Badgers (15-7) now face District IV champion Jerome (16-6) in the opening game of the State A-2 Tournament that starts Thursday at Wendell High School. Tipoff is at 12:45 p.m. PST.

“We would really like to get down there and get a big win in the opening round to keep our confidence up,” Nash said.

Bonners Ferry 55, Priest River 39

Bonners Ferry 15 12 11 17 - 55

Priest River 10 11 11 7 - 39

BONNERS FERRY Walter 5, Bateman 15, Larson 0, Myers 0, Braniff 5, Paulson 15, Comer 0, Ripatti 11, Knott 4.

PRIEST RIVER M. Ruiz 0, Stensland 2, K. Ruiz 7, Ennis 8, Suchocki 7, Duley 15, Rasmussen 0, Vogrig 0.

A-1 PLAYOFF

Sandpoint 58, Capital 54

The Bulldogs had to go the long route, but it will make the even longer trek to Twin Falls enjoyable.

Alli Nieman, arguably the best player in any classification in the state, sank four free throws in the final minute to secure a state berth in a cross-district playoff Saturday at Grangeville High School.

With the game tied 54-54, Capital post Cori Freeman was called for a technical for reaching across the endline as Sandpoint attempted to inbound the ball.

Nieman made both free throws. Forced to foul, the Eagles put Nieman back on the foul line and the 6-foot-1 senior cooly made both shots in a game that was tightly contested from the opening tip.

Sandpoint (17-3) will meet Blackfoot (22-3) in a first-round game Thursday at College of Southern Idaho. It’s the final contest of four games and tips off at 7 PST.

Nieman led Sandpoint with 25 points and seven rebounds. She made 12 of 19 free throws. Teammates Natalie Ward and Tanya Allmaras added 10 points each.

Sandpoint won the game at the free throw line, where the Bulldogs made 18 of 27 shots. Capital got to the line just four times, making two.

Capital 16 14 14 10 - 54 Sandpoint 11 18 15 14 - 58

CAPITAL Bower 5, Walsh 2, Lau 14, Read 4, Rumpel 4, Hessing 5, Stosich 6, Freeman 14.

SANDPOINT Timblin 11, Verby 2, Gunter 0, Ward 10, Allmaras 10, Nieman 25.

A-3 PLAYOFF

Grangeville 47, Wallace 28

The Bulldogs had no trouble with the outmanned Miners in a cross-district playoff game for a state berth at Moscow Junior High School.

Chelsey Hall led Grangeville with 21 points. Grangeville (19-5) will meet Fruitland (14-9) in a first-round game Thursday at Twin Falls High School.

Joy Sperry led Wallace (6-14).