Lake City Hammers Post Falls

Maybe the poster isn’t presumptuous after all.

A hand-painted sign in the Lake City High School gym proclaims the Timberwolf girls basketball team the 1994-95 State A-1 champion.

Lake City played like a state champion Thursday, crushing Post Falls 56-18 in the first round of the statequalifying Region I Tournament and giving T-Wolf coach Dave Fealko his 300th victory.

The win also sets up a regional championship game against the Inland Empire League’s top seeds. Top-ranked and league champion LC (20-1 overall) will meet runner-up Lewiston (17-4) in the title game Saturday when the tourney resumes at Booth Hall in Lewiston. The game tips off at 8.

In the other regional opener Thursday, Lewiston rallied from an eight-point halftime deficit to top Sandpoint for a third time this season, 58-50.

In a loser-out game prior to the regional final, Post Falls (8-14) will meet Sandpoint (14-6) at 6.

The outcome Thursday was never in doubt.

The Timberwolves’ fullcourt pressure smothered the Trojans early and often. Post Falls committed 15 of its 38 turnovers in the first period as LC opened a 15-2 lead by quarter’s end.

Post Falls scored just two baskets in the first half, its second coming at the 5:10 mark of the second quarter. At that point, LC led 19-4 but hiked the margin to 34-4 at halftime.

The Trojans played as if they’d never faced a fullcourt press.

“We were scared, we were very tentative,” Post Falls coach Chris Johnson said. “With a press that aggressive you have to be aggressive and we just had moments of panic.”

Even Fealko was astonished by the lopsided outcome.

“It was amazing,” he said. “Our kids’ intensity was great, our offensive execution was great. They went zone and we passed the ball insideoutside and got the easy shot. Our kids did a wonderful job.”

LC shot 67 percent (24 of 36), and a majority of the shots were layups off turnovers, baskets in transition or good looks by virtue of great ball movement in the halfcourt offense.

Post Falls hit just 17 percent (5 of 30) of its shots. The Trojans didn’t make a shot from the field in the third quarter and were limited to one point, that coming with 1:02 remaining in the period.

A free throw by Nicole Nipp put LC ahead by its widest margin at 48-5 early in the fourth period.

The T-Wolves held Trojans junior wing Heidi Umthun, the secondleading scorer in the league at 17.2 points per game, scoreless. Umthun left the game when Johnson pulled his starters with 5:26 remaining in the third quarter. She didn’t return because of a strained tendon.

Jennifer Kerns led LC with 11 points. Lindsay Herbert and Melissa Dodge added 10 each. Ann Shepard led Post Falls with seven.

Fealko, honored for the milestone and given a golden basketball mounted on a plaque during a ceremony following the game, expects a tough game from Lewiston on Saturday.

Johnson, meanwhile, is confident the Trojans will bounce back.

“Our locker room was very positive,” Johnson said. “Our kids understand what happened. It’s out of their minds. All they’re thinking about is playing Sandpoint.”

Lake City 56, Post Falls 18

Post Falls 2 2 1 13 - 18

Lake City 15 19 13 9 - 56

POST FALLS Goodwin 0, Klaudt 1, Umthun 0, Shepard 7, Byxbee 1, Shannon Olson 0, Shawna Olson 4, Thomson 0, Beatty 0, Glaser 2, Stutzke 0, Waltz 3.

LAKE CITY Kerns 11, Dodge 10, Telford 4, Nipp 5, Riggs 8, Herbert 10, Hatrock 0, Jacobson 4, Tolzmann 4.

INTERMOUNTAIN

Bonners Ferry 68, Priest River 55

Amy Regehr and Jana Nearing each scored 12 points in the first half as the visiting Badgers downed the Spartans.

Bonners Ferry 18 15 25 10 - 68

Priest River 5 12 13 25 - 55

BONNERS FERRY Knott 2, Bateman 4, Regehr 22, D.Ripatti 6, Cartwright 2, Nearing 19, Paulson 2, K.Ripatti 6, Mulvaney 1, Walter 2, Larson 2.

PRIEST RIVER Duley 2, Ennis 8, Go 3, Stensland 9, Duley 6, Suchocki 11, Ruiz , Rasmussen 14, Vogrig 0, Brooks 2.

NORTH STAR

Lakeside 57, Kootenai 39

The Knights’ took a 23-8 lead in the first quarter. Jennifer Niebuhr led a balanced scoring effort with 13 points, four rebounds and four steals for the Knights.

Kootenai 8 15 3 13 - 39

Lakeside 23 11 14 9 - 57

KOOTENAI Courtemanche 2, Andersen 0, Hunter 5, T.Kraack 15, Flint 11, Riken 2, L.Kraak 2, Ausman 2, Damiano 0.

LAKESIDE (Plummer, Idaho) - Paulson 8, SiJohn 8, Nelson 2, McFadden 8, Ward 2, Niebuhr 13, Brand 6, Hammons 10, S.Campbell 0.

NON-LEAGUE

Kellogg 54, Mullan 25

Laura Rauenhorst grabbed 11 rebounds and Amy Lemon scored 13 points to lead the visiting Wildcats past the Tigers.

Kellogg 17 13 16 8 - 54

Mullan 5 3 7 10 - 25

KELLOGG Derbyshire 2, Lemon 13, Costa 4, Reed 0, Shiplett 6, Mercado 7, Hei 0, Rauenhorst 8, Lemieux 8, Luchini 6, Delcomte 0.

MULLAN Kri.Elwood 4, Reed 4, M.Hegbloom 8, A.Hegbloom 3, Kat.Elwood 4, T.Flood 2, Wright 0, Hendryx 0.

St. Maries 42, Wallace 33

Sarah Shippy and Bryna Reynolds each scored eight points as the visiting Lumberjacks overshadowed a 13-point, 19-rebound performance from the Miners’ Joy Sperry.

St. Maries 11 10 6 15 - 42

Wallace 4 6 11 12 - 33

ST. MARIES Shippy 8, Reynolds 8, Adams 0, Farrell 7, M.Asher 6, Wolfe 2, Laplant 0, A.Asher 3, Borgmann 2, Tams 6.

WALLACE Rapp 3, Tesky 5, Calabretta 0, Gregory 0, Sperry 13, Krulitz 2, Hegbloom 10, Streeter 0, Elliston 0.