Post Falls Returns To Form, Whips Lewiston Faces Lake City In A-1 Region I Championship Game On Tuesday

Now that’s more like the Post Falls High girls basketball team.

Three days ago, Post Falls tripped in an A-1 Region I tournament opener at home, falling to Lewiston 40-37.

But Post Falls bounced back in impressive fashion Saturday, eliminating Lewiston 50-29.

The Trojans (16-7) visit Lake City (22-0) Tuesday in the first championship game of the double-elimination tournament. Post Falls must defeat the No. 1-ranked Timberwolves twice to earn an automatic berth to state. Tip off is at 7 p.m.

If Post Falls loses it would have one more chance at a state berth. The regional runner-up will meet the fourth-place District III (Boise area) team in a playoff Saturday at Grangeville.

When opportunity knocked Saturday the Trojans didn’t wait to answer. They ran over the Bengals, and they kept running thereafter.

Post Falls took an 18-11 lead into halftime - an advantage that should have been bigger considering how poorly Lewiston played and how well the Trojans played defense.

At intermission, the Trojans talked about seizing control of the game in the third quarter.

“We just decided that if we wanted to go to state we had to pick it up,” sophomore point guard Carmi Eberle said.

Eberle, the smallest player on the court at 5-foot-2, led the charge. She scored 10 of her game-high 16 points in the third period as she made all four of her shots including two 3-pointers.

Early in the period, Lewiston cut the lead to 22-17. But Post Falls scored 18 straight points during 3-minute span. Desiree Johnson’s putback of her own miss gave the Trojans their biggest lead at 42-18 with 35 seconds left in the quarter.

The Bengals (10-13) never recovered.

“The big difference between tonight and (Wednesday) is we played with more poise, more confidence,” Post Falls coach Chris Johnson. “We’ve shown steady improvement. We’re not done yet.”

Post Falls has been Lewiston’s postseason nemesis. The Trojans have ended the Bengals’ season each of the past three years.

Lewiston struggled shooting. The Bengals made just 11 of 41 shots and they went 7:45 from the middle of the first to the second period without a basket.

“We just flat out couldn’t match their intensity in the third quarter,” Lewiston coach Pat Zink said. “We cut the lead to five (points), but like our first game of the season with them we couldn’t control their explosion.”

The Trojans received strong play from Janelle Ruen (12 points, seven steals) and Johnson (11 points).

Post Falls held Lewiston’s season-leading scorer Kim Wegner to five points.

LC most likely will play without 6-4 senior standout post Alison Asher, who suffered what’s believed to be a mild strain of her left knee in the T-Wolves’ 41-30 win Friday against Lewiston. She attended Saturday’s game, but was walking cautiously.

“I think a lot of people are going to overestimate Alison’s absence,” Johnson said. “She’s a great ballplayer, but they have so many weapons that the loss of one player isn’t going to decimate their program.”

Post Falls 50, Lewiston 29

Lewiston 4 7 10 8 - 29

Post Falls 10 8 24 8 - 50

LEWISTON - Gill 2, Zobel 2, Scharnhorst 3, Sullivan 2, Albright 8, Roberts 0, Wegner 5, Bausch 5, Presnell 0, Spencer 2.

POST FALLS - Eberle 16, Billetz 4, Mills 0, Brown 2, Foster 0, Edmonds 2, Holland 0, Swanstrom 3, Ruen 12, Johnson 11, Roberge 0.

, DataTimes