Nic Continues Thrill Ride With Ot Win Over Eastern Utah

College women

North Idaho College women’s basketball: It’s not just a game; it’s an adventure.

The Cardinals pulled off their second second-half comeback of the week, trimming College of Eastern Utah 65-64 in overtime on Saturday night at Christianson Gym.

“We don’t like to be boring,” said smiling NIC coach Greg Crimp, who turned 50 on Tuesday, two days before the Cards rallied to edge Colorado Northwestern 67-60. “I’m closing in on 55.”

NIC (14-3 overall, 6-3 Scenic West Athletic Conference) survived a disjointed, wildly entertaining contest when Audrey Rehder made a game-winning free throw with 2.8 seconds remaining in overtime.

Rehder’s only other points came in the game’s first 30 seconds, but she has experience with clutch shots.

“We were down two in high school and I hit a 3 to win the game,” said Rehder, who hit the second of her two fouls shots. “I was just praying after the first one didn’t go in.”

Both teams had ample opportunities to win. CEU (10-11, 3-6) led 59-58 after Catherine Hale’s 13-footer with 17 seconds left in regulation. But CEU’s Jackie Rowbury committed a silly foul on Barrie Jensen, who hit 1 of 2 shots to force overtime.

Hale buried another mid-range jumper to put CEU up 64-63 with 1:25 remaining. Alisha Nater answered with a tying free throw.

Rehder was fouled on the right wing by Rowbury just as she started to drive. Rehder had attempted only six free throws on the season and missed her last three before connecting.

“We pulled it out,” she said.

NIC led by nine in the first half before bogging down in a turnover rut. CEU erased a 30-26 halftime deficit by limiting the Cardinals to six points in the first 11 minutes of the second half.

From there, both offenses heated up. Nater had 17 points and eight rebounds and Julie Grohs added 14 points and 10 boards. Kelly Middlesworth came off the bench to contribute seven points in the second half. NIC was stung by 29 turnovers.

Hale’s 19 topped CEU, which lost to Ricks by 40 on Thursday.

North Idaho 65, Eastern Utah 64 (OT)

Eastern Utah (10-11, 3-6) - Young 0-1 0-0 0, Rowbury 4-8 0-0 10, Carlson 2-6 0-1 4, Hale 8-12 3-5 19, Angel 2-12 4-6 10, Tobiason 3- 13 7-12 13, McAtee 1-2 0-0 3, Olsen 0-0 0-0 0, Bulter 1-4 0-2 2, Farmer 0-3 0-0 0, Jorgensen 1-3 1-2 3. Totals 22-64 15-28 64.

North Idaho (14-3, 6-3) - Middlesworth 3-6 0-0 7, Goyne 2-8 2- 2 8, Huddle 0-5 0-0 0, Grohs 4-12 6-6 14, Lemon 0-1 0-0 0, Rehder 1-3 1- 2 3, Lindhe 1-2 3-4 6, Dowhy 2-4 1-2 5, Nater 5-9 7-11 17, Jensen 2-6 1- 2 5. Totals 20-56 21-29 65.

Half - NIC 30, CEU 26. Regulation - 59-59. 3-point goals - CEU 5- 14 (Rowbury 2-4, Angel 2-6, McAtee 1-2, Hale 0-2), NIC 4-15 (Goyne 2- 6, Middlesworth 1-1, Lindhe 1-1, Huddle 0-2, Grohs 0-1, Lemon 0-1, Rehder 0-1, Jensen 0-2). Total fouls - CEU 24, NIC 21. Technical fouls - none. Fouled out - Huddle, Young, Butler, Rowbury. Rebounds - CEU 36 (Tobiason 11) NIC 44 (Jensen 11). Assists - CEU 16 (Rowbury 6), NIC 19 (Jensen, Goyne each 5).

WSU 72, Cal 65

Washington State’s twin towers, Alke Dietel and Yvonne Kunze, combined for 41 points as the Cougars upended the host California Golden Bears in a Pacific-10 Conference game at Kaiser Arena in Oakland, Calif.

Dietel scored 21 and Kunze 20 for WSU (9-7 overall, 3-4 Pac-10). Tricia Lamb added 13 points, all in the second half, and Joanna Smith scored 12.

The Cougars outrebounded the Golden Bears 41-37 on the strength of Kunze’s 12 rebounds, and after turning the ball over 18 times in the first half, WSU made just eight turnovers in the second 20 minutes.

Masa Radovic scored 18 for California (5-12, 1-6). Paige Bowie added 13, Amber Lacey 12 and Kenya Corley 10.

Washington St. (9-7) - Dietel 9-17 0-0 21, Evans 2-4 0-0 4, Kunze 8-16 0-0 20, Lamb 4-8 3-6 13, Myseth 0-0 0-0 0, Kerns 0-2 2-2 2, Volkman 0-1 0-0 0, Rubio 0-4 0-0 0, Smith 4-4 0-0 12. Totals 27-56 9-14 72.

California (5-12) - Bowie 5-12 1-2 13, Folsom 2-10 2-2 7, Lacey 6-10 0-0 12, Johnson 0-10 3-4 3, Radovic 7-11 3-3 18, Leanader 0-2 0-0 0, Churchill 0-0 0-0 0, Corley 5-9 0-0 10, Ashbaugh 0-2 2-4 2, Inoue 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 25-69 11-15 65.

Halftime-Washington St. 32, California 30. Fouled out-none. 3-Point goals-Washington St. 9-16 (Smith 4-4, Dietel 3-5, Lamb 2-6, Volkman 0-1), California 4-9 (Bowie 2-4, Folsom 1-2, Radovic 1-1, Corley 0-1, Johnson 0-1). Assists-Washington St. 16 (Kerns 5), California 18 (Bowie 5). Rebounds- Washington St. 41 (Kunze 12), California 37 (Ashbaugh 8). Total fouls- Washington St. 17, California 17. Technical fouls-California coach Stanley. A-575.

, DataTimes