Cardinals Roar Back Again Nic Women Recover From Another Deficit To Win Opener At Nationals, 74-65, Over Hiwassee

His team had fewer points (five) than minutes played (11) and found itself trailing by 12 points nearly midway into the first half Tuesday afternoon.

Was North Idaho College coach Greg Crimp concerned? Naw. Mildly at best. Been there, done that.

All Crimp did was take his sportcoat off, coached a little harder, and his team responded in kind.

NIC shrugged off one of its worst shooting halves of the season and used an extended halfcourt matchup zone that created critical steals as the Cardinals rallied 74-65 over Hiwassee College of Madisonville, Tenn., in the opening round of the NJCAA Division I women’s basketball tournament at Tyler Junior College.

The victory earned the Cardinals (28-4) a date tonight against athletically blessed, tall and sixth-ranked Central Arizona (30-1), an 85-77 overtime winner over Seminole (Okla.). Tipoff is scheduled for 6 PST.

Asked his thoughts about Central Arizona, Crimp needed one word: “Awesome.”

“Do you think we’ve got a chance against them?” Crimp asked rhetorically.

Central Arizona was the last thing on Crimp’s mind. He wanted to savor NIC’s first win at nationals in its first trip since 1988-89.

The final margin may have been nine points, but the game was much tighter. NIC didn’t take its first lead until the 13:52 mark of the second half.

After climbing back and building its most significant lead at 47-42, NIC suffered a 3-minute dryspell. Hiwassee took advantage, running off 13 straight points for a 55-47 lead with 10 minutes left.

That’s when NIC’s defense, led by guards Mandy Jacques and Tammy Goyne, took over. The Cards forced nearly all of Hiwassee’s final 10 turnovers (27 overall).

Jacques had a team-high five thefts. She scored all 11 of her points in the second half as her baskets either came off steals or hustle buckets on weakside putbacks.

Jacques’ biggest steal and ensuing assist to a breaking Angie Dickson put NIC ahead 68-65 with 1:33 left. That basket came after back-to-back buckets by Shawna Rainer. Her first basket came when she shook past 6-3 Hiwassee post Katrise Thompson from the perimeter for an uncontested layup. She followed seconds later with a low-arcing 19-footer that gave NIC the lead for good at 66-65.

Rainer finished with a game-high 18 points.

Jacques was still breathless and nearly speechless 15 minutes afterward.

“I’m still pumped up so much that I don’t know what to say,” the red-faced Jacques said. “I just remember that when we were behind I wasn’t looking at the scoreboard. All I know is we’ve got heart that goes for miles.”

In many ways, the Cardiac Cardinals picked up at nationals where they left off at the Region 18 Tournament - behind. They trailed in the regional semifinal and championship games.

They came back Tuesday despite abysmal first-half shooting. The Cards made just 11 of 43 attempts.

Most of the misses came during the 9-minute opening stretch and the final 5 minutes of the half. NIC made two of its final 15 shots.

In between, though, the Cards’ perseverance paid off. Trailing 17-5, NIC used its own 17-5 run to knot the score at 22-all with 5:18 left before intermission.

Hiwassee (30-3) opened an eight-point cushion until an 8-foot buzzer beater by Carrie Albers, her lone basket in 2 minutes of action, allowed NIC to go to halftime fortunate to be trailing 32-26.

Tigerettes coach Dean Walsh complimented the Cards for doing something his team failed to do - finish.

“I think the difference in the game was they stayed with it for 40 minutes and we didn’t,” Walsh said. “Mentally we’ve been tough all year long. Today it was pitiful. We had them on the ropes. We were executing and handling the pressure.”

Until the critical moments at the end.

“Again, North Idaho didn’t get flustered. They stayed with it,” Walsh said. “When you get to this level, whoever plays a 40-minute game will win.”

North Idaho 74, Hiwassee College 65

North Idaho College (28-4) - Goyne 2-4 4-4 8, Jacques 4-9 2-3 11, Richards 1-4 2-2 4, Viebrock 0-1 0-0 0, Albers 1-1 0-0 2, Nearing 2-9 4-6 8, Rainer 9-17 0-2 18, Shepard 0-4 1-2 1, Jensen 1-5 0-0 3, Dowhy 4-11 4-6 12. Totals 27-77 17-25 74. Hiwassee College (30-3) - Linley 0-1 0-0 0, Wynn 0-0 0-0 0, Davis 3-6 0-0 7, Lenior 4-9 2-2 10, Foster 0-4 0-0 0, McGill 4-14 1-2 9, Thompson 7-9 902 14, Nesbitt 1-6 1-3 3, Jones 2-8 0-0 6, Ainsworth 6-15 4-8 16. Totals 27-72 8-18 65. Halftime - H 32, N 26. Fouls - N 21, H 19. Fouled out - H, Linley. Technical fouls - none. 3-pointers - H 3-12 (Davis 1-1, Jones 2-7); N 3-13 (Jacques 1-2, Dickson 1-4, Jensen 1-4). Rebounds - H 56 (Nesbitt 14), N 39 (Nearing 9). Assists - H 12 (Ainsworth, Jones 3), N 8 (Goyne 3). Attendance - 400 estimate.

First-round scores

North Idaho College 74, Hiwasse College 65 Louisburg 63, Moberly 61 Central Arizona 85, Seminole 77 OT Casper 93, Vincennes 69 Kansas City 77, Savannah Tech 51 Trinity Valley 99, North Dakota-Lake Region 58 , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo