Moscow Defends Its District Title

A-2 District I-II

Nearly all the players have changed and the head coach is a rookie, but the tradition continues for the Moscow High girls basketball team.

Defending State A-2 champion in name only - all the key players graduated - Moscow not only extended a tradition Friday, but it wrote a new chapter for rookie coach Robin Barnes.

To do so, Moscow had to fend off the Badgers of Bonners Ferry as the Bears prevailed in overtime, 56-47, to capture the District I-II Tournament championship at North Idaho College’s Christianson Gym.

Moscow (14-7 overall) advances to the state tournament at Centennial in Meridian next week where it will meet District V runner-up American Falls (21-3).

Today, Bonners Ferry (15-4) will be out to join Moscow at state. The Badgers take on Lakeland (10-11) at 1 p.m. at NIC. The loser goes home and the winner goes to state for an opening game against District IV champion Buhl (17-5).

Lakeland eliminated Priest River (12-11) 49-39 in the loser-out opener Friday.

Moscow 56, Bonners Ferry 47 (OT)

For a game pitting two evenly matched teams it was appropriate that play went back and forth from start to finish.

As far as Bonners Ferry is concerned, the game probably shouldn’t have gone into overtime.

With 1 second left in regulation, Bonners Ferry had the ball to inbound under its basket. The Badgers’ top shooter, Amber Paulson, took a pass and got a good look despite having to rush a 14-footer from the wing. The buzzer sounded just before the ball fell short on the rim.

“That’s usually a sure shot for her,” Badgers coach Jim Nash said.

Moscow took advantage of three critical Bonners Ferry turnovers and two key rebounds off missed free throws in overtime to claim the championship.

“They deserved it,” Nash said of Moscow. “Give Moscow credit. They showed lots of patience on offense, worked the ball around and got good shots. They were so patient that there wasn’t enough time on the clock for us and we had to foul.”

Leading the way for Moscow was sophomore Amber Mathews. She scored a game-high 20 points.

Moscow opened an 11-6 lead after the first quarter. Bonners Ferry countered in the opening minutes of the second period, going on an 11-0 run to take a 17-11 lead with 3:56 left before halftime.

The teams went to intermission tied at 21.

Sloppy play created a flurry of turnovers in the third quarter. Moscow, which finished with 28 turnovers, committed 10 in the third period.

Moscow led 40-39 in the fourth quarter before Paulson made a baseline jumper to give the Badgers the lead at 41-40 with 1:21 remaining. Sarah Walter made a free throw to extend the lead to 42-40 with :46 on the clock.

The Badgers had the ball seconds later with an opportunity to secure the win but they turned the ball over with 19 seconds on the clock.

Freshman Courtney Goetz, another of Moscow’s talented young players, got a putback in the key with 11 seconds remaining to tie the score at 42.

“Our last three games have been very close and that’s not helping me any at all,” Barnes said, smiling. “But maybe it’s good preparation for state.

“Give the credit to the kids. I’ve been learning the ropes and the kids want to keep the tradition alive.”

Kara Braniff led the Badgers, scoring a team-high 15 points. Paulson had 11 and Bateman added 10.

Moscow 11 10 8 13 14 - 56

Bonners Ferry 6 15 11 10 5 - 47

Moscow - Allen 7, T. Goetz 10, Thomas 0, Bonine 5, Mathews 20, Sorbel 2, C. Goetz 8, Makus 0, Griggs 4, Thorton 0.

Bonners Ferry - Walter 9, Decker 2, Bateman 10, Braniff 15, Paulson 11, Downing 0, Morman 0, Carey 0.

Lakeland 49, Priest River 39

The way Lakeland coach Steve Seymour sees it, playing in today’s game to decide the second berth to state is a bonus.

“We’re not even supposed to be this far if you listened to predictions before the season,” Seymour said. “So we have nothing to lose.”

After a poorly played first quarter that ended with Lakeland ahead 4-2, the Hawks opened the second period by outscoring Priest River 15-1. Lakeland led 19-3 with 2:56 left in the first half and 24-12 at halftime.

Lakeland made 25 of 32 foul shots.

Lakeland 4 20 10 15 - 49

Priest River 2 10 12 15 - 39

Lakeland - Foldvik 6, Douglas 13, Jamison 14, Boone 4, DeBoer 0, Campbell 4, Banbury 0, Harwood 5, Fox 0, Berger 3.

Priest River - K. Duley 4, Reed 5, Ruiz 12, Ennis 10, Go 0, Carpenter 8, Vogrig 0.

All-league team

Intermountain League coaches announced their all-league team after the district title game.

Named to the team were Amber Paulson and Sarah Walter of Bonners Ferry, Missy Ennis and Krissi Ruiz of Priest River, Amy Lemon of Kellogg, Anna Allen and Danna Wilder of Moscow, Brooke Wolfe of St. Maries, and Alyssa Douglas and Amber Jamison of Lakeland.

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