Bullpups pull away from Tigers

Mike Arte is all about his Gonzaga Prep girls basketball team pushing the tempo.

But he wants the Bullpups to do so intelligently. They did in the second half as Gonzaga Prep pulled away from the visiting Lewis and Clark Tigers 77-66 in Greater Spokane League play Tuesday.

“Coach talked to us at halftime about playing under control,” sophomore post Otiona Gildon said. “We were a little too impatient in the first half.”

Gildon hit a short jumper in the key that gave G-Prep (3-0 overall, 3-0 GSL) its biggest first-half lead at 25-18 with 5:46 to go. But three straight baskets coupled with two free throws allowed LC (2-1, 2-1) to go in front at 26-25. The Tigers would take a 37-36 lead into intermission.

“We were rushing the tempo way too much, taking shots too early in the shot clock,” Arte said. “They’re (the Tigers) such good defenders that sometimes you feel like you’re open when you get past them. But we needed to be more selective.”

Things changed in the second half. A lot of it had to do with an emphasis to the get ball inside to the 6-foot Gildon. She scored 16 of her career-high 24 points in the second half to go with 14 rebounds, three blocked shots and two assists.

LC freshman Riley Lupfer hit a 9-foot jumper that pulled the Tigers within 48-47 with 2:41 to go in the third quarter. But that’s when the Bullpups started to pull away.

G-Prep closed out the period on an 11-1 surge, capped by a putback from Gildon with 19 seconds left.

The Bullpups extended their lead to 73-56 in the fourth quarter before LC finished on a 10-4 run.

Arte couldn’t praise Gildon enough.

“She’s tough, she’s athletic, she’s strong,” Arte said. “They (the Tigers) didn’t have an answer for her inside.”

Gildon had help, too. Heather Caudill and Laura Stockton scored 16 apiece and Kayla Leland had 11. Madison Wright added 10 rebounds and Oona Harrington had eight.

Taylor Howlett led LC with 16 points, eight rebounds and four steals.

Ferris 57, Mt. Spokane 53: The Saxons (4-1, 2-1) handed the visiting Wildcats (3-1, 2-1) their first loss.

The Wildcats took a three-point lead with just over a minute to go, but the Saxons made 8 of 8 free throws in the final minute to secure the win.

Brittney Johnson led Ferris with 17 points and four steals and Abby Liss added 13 points. Brooke Reilly led the Wildcats with 19 points and nine rebounds.

University 65, Central Valley 46: The visiting Titans (1-3, 1-2) used big second and fourth quarters to pull away from the Bears (1-3, 0-3).

The Titans outscored CV 19-7 in the second and 27-14 in the fourth. Cassie Shillam had 19 points to lead U-Hi. Madison Hovren topped CV with 16 points.

Mead 55, North Central 27: The Panthers (5-0, 3-0) overwhelmed the undermanned Indians (0-5, 0-3) at Mead.

Jade Redmon led Mead with 17 points and teammates Delaney Junkermier and Ashlyn Lewey added 13 and 11 respectively.

Shadle Park 61, Rogers 16: The Highlanders (2-1, 2-1) jumped all over the visiting Pirates (0-3, 0-3) in the first half.

The Highlanders raced to a 46-12 lead by halftime. Kendra Winchester had a game-high 18 points while Rashae Williams had 11 points, eight rebounds, six steals and five assists and Amanda Konyenbelt had 10 points, five assists and four steals.