Moscow Reaches Title Game

A-2/A-3/A-4

Moscow and Sugar-Salem entered Friday’s elite matchup at the girls State A-2 championships with identical 21-1 records.

Because of Moscow’s tenacious defense, the teams are no longer identical.

Senior post Angie Sorbel scored 20 points and 5-foot-6 Stefani Reynolds had 11 rebounds as Moscow (22-1) defeated Sugar-Salem 48-41 at Wendell to advance to tonight’s title game against Preston (19-5).

Preston beat Jerome 61-44. Jerome (17-7) and Sugar-Salem play today for third place.

Moscow held the Diggers (21-2) to 16-of-56 shooting (29 percent) from the field. Moscow shot 40 percent (20 of 50).

Moscow scored the game’s first six points, but Sugar-Salem rebounded for a 15-10 lead. Although the Diggers made eight 3-pointers, the Bears were able to keep a comfortable cushion.

Moscow 48, Sugar-Salem 41

Sugar-Salem 5 14 15 7 - 41

Moscow 10 13 16 9 - 48

SUGAR-SALEM Woodbery 3, Barrus 15, Mortensen 8, Williams 12, Hymas 3, Jensen 0, Stears 0.

MOSCOW Meyer 0, Moslemi 7, Scholz 0, Lemm 12, Sorbel 20, Korus 0, Gibson 1, Wilder 2, Reynolds 6, To.Goetz 0, Ta.Goetz 0.

Middleton 43, Bonners Ferry 42

Lila Williams scored 21 points and Sarah-Jane Miller’s layin with 30 seconds lifted the Vikings (20-5) over the Badgers (15-9) in a loser-out game.

Williams scored six consecutive points in the third quarter after Bonners Ferry, which trailed 26-19 at halftime, pulled to within one point at 30-29.

BF pulled ahead with 40 seconds left, but Miller took a long pass and laid it in for the winning basket.

Becky Bateman led BF with 11 points.

Middleton will play Shelley (20-8), the 1995 A-2 champion, for the tournament’s consolation title.

BONNERS FERRY (42) - Walter 7, Bateman 11, Paulson 10, Knott 4, Ripatti 10.

MIDDLETON (43) - S.Miller 7, Mari.Miller 2, Williams 21, Stills 2, Romero 1, Marq.Miller 10.

A-1 Tourney

Consolations

Center Tara Swallow led a balanced scoring attack with 15 points as Highland eliminated Nampa 62-49 at Twin Falls.

Later, Ginger Giest’s basket at the buzzer lifted Blackfoot to a 39-38 win that sent Pocatello home.

Highland (23-2) plays Blackfoot (23-4) for the consolation title.

A-4 Tourney

Troy 53, Lakeside 17

The Trojans (21-4) depended on Jessica Johnson’s game-high 19 points and Lindy Kirkland’s 15 to shut down the Knights (16-7) in a semifinal at Jerome.

Troy sailed to a 25-10 gap by the intermission and outscored Lakeside 17-0 in the third quarter.

Only three Knights scored. Margaret SiJohn and Jennifer Niebuhr scored six points each.

Leadore (16-6) faced Dietrich (24-1) in the other semifinal.

TROY (53) - Trout 2, Feldman 3, Morris 8, Johnson 19, Kirkland 15, Vandenbark 6.

LAKESIDE (17) - SiJohn 6, Flint 5, Niebuhr 6.

A-3 Tourney

Results

In semifinals at Twin Falls, Grangeville beat Challis 55-54 and Valley topped West Side 45-40. Grangeville (21-5) faces Valley (21-7) for the title today while Challis (18-6) and West Side (19-7) play for third place.

In consolation games, Glenns Ferry eliminated Teton 59-52 and Clearwater Valley ousted Fruitland 47-33. Glenns Ferry (20-5) and CV (16-7), last year’s champion, play for the consolation title.

, DataTimes