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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Same Old Nic Whips Lesser Ccs

This wasn’t exactly a rematch.

North Idaho College was still NIC. But the Community Colleges of Spokane women’s basketball roster has had numerous erasures since the teams met in late November when NIC posted a four-point win.

That probably best explains NIC’s easier victory on Tuesday night, a 69-54 non-conference win at Christianson Gym.

Tanya Kirk had 26 points for the Cardinals, who won their fourth straight game to improve to 14-4 overall.

CCS has lost three players to torn knee ligaments, one who quit, one who is ineligible and another to a sprained ankle. All six were prominent players and three were starters.

“NIC has gotten better (since the first meeting),” said CCS coach Bruce Johnson, whose club is 9-10. “But we’re not the same team.”

In some ways, Kirk isn’t the same player, either.

“When I first got here, I thought I had to do everything,” said Kirk, who hit 12 of 22 shots. “Now, I’m letting the ball come to me.”

Once the ball arrived, Kirk deposited it into the bucket.

Kirk’s steal and layup, turnaround jumper and soft-touch swish from 8 feet wiped out a two-point Sasquatch lead and put NIC on top to stay at 40-36 7 minutes into the second half.

Kirk scored five of NIC’s next six baskets as the Cards’ lead grew to 55-41.

“We let her get the ball where she wanted,” Johnson said.

NIC’s Shawna Rainer had 15 points and Jamie Richards handed out 11 assists with no turnovers.

“Kirk had a heckuva game, Shawna played well and Jamie had a great floor game,” said NIC coach Greg Crimp, whose club entertains Scenic West Athletic Conference rival Ricks College on Saturday night at 5:30.

CCS, after falling behind 16-6 early, rallied into the lead at 21-20 on Annie Shepard’s 3-pointer. NIC rebounded for a 30-26 halftime lead.

“Spokane always does a good job when they play us,” Crimp said. “They play us hard and they always attack the basket hard.”

Attacking didn’t translate into scoring, however. CCS shot just 30 percent from the field.

Melissa Davies had 16 points and Kelly Gaines 15 for the Sasquatch. Gaines pulled down 13 rebounds.

Led by Rainer’s four, NIC blocked 12 shots.

North Idaho 69, Spokane 54

Spokane (9-10) - Fine 2-6 0-0 4, Shepard 1-8 0-0 3, Moore 0-2 0-0 0, Humphrey 2-7 4-5 9, Brandt 2-11 1-2 5, Lawler 0-2 0-0 0, Davies 7-11 2-2 16, Gaines 6-15 3-4 15, Greenside 0-5 2-2 2. Totals 20-67 12-15 54.

North Idaho (14-4) - Radmall 0-3 2 -4 2, Grohs 1-6 4-4 6, Howerton 2-8 2-2 7, Jacques 0-0 0-0 0, Richards 2-5 0-0 4, Viebrock 0-0 0-0 0, Nearing 1-4 1-2 3, Burgess 0-0 0-0 0, Rainer 6-14 3-3 15, Schraufnagel 0-1 0-0 0, Harris 1-1 0 -0 2, Kirk 12-22 2-3 26, Zrnic 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 27-66 14-18 69.

Half - NIC 30, Spokane 26. 3-point goals - Spokane 2-8 (Fine 0-1, Shepard 1-4, Moore 0-1, Humphrey 1-2), NIC 1-5 (Howerton 1-3, Radmall 0-1, Kirk 0-1). Total fouls - Spokane 12, NIC 17. Technical fouls - none. Fouled out - Schraufnagel. Rebounds - Spokane 38 (Gaines 13), NIC 41 (Kirk 9). Assists - Spokane 10 (Fine, Shepard each 3), NIC 20 (Richards 11).

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo