CdA girls avenge losses
In its two Inland Empire League losses to the Lake City Timberwolves earlier in the season, Coeur d’Alene’s offense was rendered largely ineffective by a relentless Timberwolves defense.
In fact, in their last meeting, the CdA offense struggled mightily, committing double-digit turnovers while getting just one point combined from their guard tandem in a 46-30 loss.
Revenge is sweet.
The Vikings got a huge emotional lift from their guards and turned the tables on the T-Wolves on defense in cruising to a 57-38 non-league girls basketball win over Lake City (8-8) Friday before a capacity crowd of 1,700 at CdA’s Elmer Jordan Court.
While the Vikings (12-4) can only dream about the two that got away, they now can brag about the big one they landed as the victory came in the seventh annual “Fight for the Fish,” an emotionally charged contest that earns the winner bragging rights for another year.
The Vikings broke open a tightly contested first half with a dominating third quarter.
CdA forced eight Lake City turnovers in that period and, following a 12-3 run, stretched a 28-21 halftime lead to 40-24 with 3:03 to go.
“Did you guys get the license plate of that bus?” Lake City coach Darren Taylor asked following the game. “It kind of got out of hand there in the first half. CdA came out much harder tonight. They were more aggressive and they beat us up and down the floor.”
“I’m really pleased that our kids played with some heart and didn’t just go through the motions,” CdA coach Dale Poffenroth said. “This kinda evens the table for next time a little bit.”
The two teams battled it out in the first quarter. Coeur d’Alene jumped out to an 8-5 lead, but Lake City, behind the inside play of freshman Katy Baker, kept it close.
A 3-pointer from the top of the key by Lake City’s Brittany Bemis with 8 seconds left tied it at 11 at the end of the first quarter.
CdA took a quick 15-11 lead to start the second period, but Lake City regained the lead, 17-15, on a baseline drive by Riki Moreland.
Then came the first of CdA’s runs.
Getting contributions from everyone, the Vikings outscored Lake City 13-2 over the next 3-plus minutes to grab a 28-19 lead.
Junior Jenna DeLong led the Vikings with eight first-half points.
The Vikings carried that momentum into the third quarter.
Continuing to hound the ball, CdA forced Lake City into eight more turnovers, igniting a 12-2 run that made it 40-24.
Lake City never got closer than 14 points the rest of the way.
“We couldn’t calm down and we really lost our focus,” Taylor said. “We couldn’t really run any kind of offense during that stretch.
“(Poffenroth) did a really good job of switching defenses on us.”
Poffenroth credited his guards for jump-starting the Vikings’ offense with their defensive pressure.
“They got some stuff going tonight. That’s good basketball if you can make that happen,” he said, referring to Lake City’s 26 turnovers on the night. “That’s where the game is won and lost.”
Senior Jackie Lenz and junior Lindsay Stark, who were frustrated on offense in their last meeting with the Timberwolves, ran the CdA offense with precision.
They consistently found teammates for open looks inside. The chief beneficiaries of those passes were sophomore post Deanna Dotts, who finished with 11 points and hit her first five buckets, and freshman Kama Griffitts who led the Vikings with 14 points. Lenz and Stark combined for 15 points.
“The coaches have really been talking to us about shooting more and driving to the basket,” Stark said. “We had a lot of ball movement tonight and on our press, we really put pressure on their guards.”
It worked. Lake City junior guard Richelle Fenenbock, who had 23 points in a win over Moscow last week, was held to just one point.
Baker was the lone LC player in double figures, with 11 points. Freshman Emma Hawn added eight.