Post Falls Toughs It Out
Prep basketball
A combined 62 turnovers notwithstanding, the injury-riddled Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene girls basketball teams did engage in several minutes of entertaining play Thursday.
Take, for instance, the final 4 minutes in which Post Falls held off a Coeur d’Alene comeback for a 37-29 Border League victory at Vikings Gym.
Both teams played respectable zone defense. But the defense wasn’t solely responsible for the rash of turnovers.
Post Falls played its first game without standout point guard Carmi Eberle, who may be lost for the season with a shoulder injury that requires surgery. CdA played its fourth game without point guard Patti Stranger, who broke a hand in the Viks’ second game. She may return next week.
The Trojans were able to pack their zone around Vikings post Shaylia Davis because CdA had no perimeter shooting threat or poised ballhandler. They held Davis to five points.
When the Viks tried to pass or dribble the ball around the perimeter, the Trojans were in most of the lanes. The result was 33 turnovers for CdA.
“That’s just huge,” CdA coach Bill Pratt said of the errors. “You’re not going to beat anybody (with 33 turnovers). Their defense was good and they challenged every pass and really extend. But we weren’t very smart in our ball(handling).”
As far as Post Falls coach Chris Johnson was concerned, Thursday’s game was like restarting the season.
Another injury occurred Tuesday when do-everything wing Janelle Ruen hurt her lower back while playing volleyball.
“I landed on my butt really hard,” Ruen said. “I felt fine during the game.”
Said Johnson: “We didn’t know up until game time if she was even going to play. It (the back) was the worst it’s been today.”
Ruen didn’t score her usual points, but she had her usual contributions across the board. She finished with eight steals, six blocked shots, five assists and nine points.
The Trojans used the pick-and-roll combination of Ruen and post Desiree Johnson to build their biggest lead at 33-22 early in the fourth quarter. Johnson finished with a game-high 15 points and five blocked shots.
Three straight baskets by the Vikings - two of them from sophomore guard Dani Bielec - pulled CdA within 35-29 with 2:24 remaining.
But the Vikings missed their next four shots, all within close range. A scooped running shot along the baseline by Ruen with 1:20 left provided the final margin.
On the injury front, the Viks had a scare with 36 seconds to go when Davis fell hard on her already-tender lower back. She was assisted off the floor and into the training room.
Ruen plans to see a chiropractor. And Eberle is scheduled for surgery Dec. 30.
“We’re just planning on playing with the kids we have and if she (Eberle) comes back it’s a bonus,” Johnson said. “With all the adversity we’ve been facing lately, I’m just really proud of how hard our kids played.”
Post Falls 9 12 8 8 - 37
Coeur d’Alene 10 4 8 7 - 29
Post Falls (2-2, 2-2) - Billetz 6, Clutter 2, Brown 2, McLean 0, Roberge 3, Ruen 9, Johnson 15.
Coeur d’Alene (3-3, 2-2) - Lenz 0, Roetter 0, Vig 0, Ruiz 3, Douglas 5, Bielec 10, Griffitts 6, Davis 5.
Non-league
Sandpoint 39, Lakeland 35
Jennie James had 10 rebounds and the visiting Bulldogs defeated the Hawks at Rathdrum.
Sandpoint 10 9 12 8 - 39
Lakeland 10 14 4 7 - 35
Sandpoint (2-3) - Verby 0, Allmaras 6, Larson 7, Freir 0, Gunter 0, Libbey 2, Ross 9, James 12, Glines 0, Wood 3.
Lakeland (2-1) - Douglas 0, Jamison 7, Smith 6, Desmarais 4, Austad 5, Kirkpatrick 0, Waller 0, Egbert 9, Duvall 4, Berger 0.
Falls Christian 41, Kootenai 38
The Eagles overcame an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter to edge the Warriors at Harrison.
Kootenai’s Amanda Reinhardt had 13 rebounds.
Falls Christian 6 12 7 16 - 41
Kootenai 19 7 7 5 - 38
Falls Christian (1-3) - Johnson 8, Williams 8, Moate 7, Taylor 4, S. Jenkins 2, Dunning 12.
Kootenai (0-3) - S. Kraack 10, Reinhardt 9, Banderob 2, Donohoe 4, Andersen 5, Schlepp 4, Scheffelmaier 4.
Boys
Border League
Sandpoint 51, Post Falls 42
The Bulldogs shot 55 percent from the floor to defeat the visiting Trojans.
PF’s Scott Klaudt had eight steals. The Trojans shot 25 percent from the field.
Post Falls 8 11 6 17 - 42
Sandpoint 11 15 12 13 - 51
Post Falls (0-1, 0-1) - Smith 0 1-2 1, Klaudt 6 3-10 18, Fetters 0 0-0 0, McKinnon 1 2-2 4, Garrett 0 0-0 0, Miller 2 0-0 5, Richards 1 2-2 5, Dreckman 2 0-0 4, Thornley 2 1-6 5. Totals 14 9-24 42.
Sandpoint (1-0, 1-0) - Evans 0 2-3 2, Nieman 2-6 3-4 8, Singleton 3 0-0 6, Watson 3 1-3 7, Menard 4 6-10 15, Malone 0 1-2 1, Gunter 0 0-0 0, Rmaldi 5 2-4 12. Totals 17 15-26 51.
3-point goals - Klaudt 3, Miller, Richards, Nieman, Menard. Total fouls - Post Falls 22, Sandpoint 18. Fouled out - Miller, Thornley, Singleton. Technicals - None.
Washington
Shadle Park 58, Cheney 55
Demetrius Scott hit five 3-pointers on the way to 23 points, leading Shadle Park to a non-league win at Cheney in both teams’ season openers.
Scott, a junior, scored 24 in his varsity debut last year, but suffered a season-ending leg injury in his second game.
Cheney’s Chris Oyolokor hit four 3-pointers.
Cheney coach Denny Humphrey is two wins shy of 500. Just seven coaches in state history have hit 500, including Reardan’s Gene Smith, who retired with exactly 500.
Shadle Park 13 12 18 15 - 58
Cheney 11 18 18 8 - 55
Shadle Park (1-0) - Howlett 9, Scott 23, Bishop 0, K. Johnson 0, McGinn 12, Bell 5, Gabriel 3, Fergen 0, J. Johnson 6.
Cheney (0-1) - Larsen 2, Volk 0, Oyolokor 14, Mount 4, Berryhill 8, Woodard 13, Mansell 0, Bond 14.
Pasco 54, U-Hi 50
Dametrius Straws scored 18 and the Bulldogs hit late free throws to hold off the visiting Titans.
U-Hi missed a layup that would have tied the game with 50 seconds left.
University 10 10 15 15 - 50
Pasco 8 18 9 19 - 54
University (0-1) - Gazaway 3, Davidow 0, Benefield 9, Moore 4, Roberts 12, Renz 10, Spear 4, Kaiser 0, Neal 8.
Pasco (1-0) - Barber 5, Hileman 16, Cod. Fielding 7, Straws 18, Cor. Fielding 5, Tebay 3.