Bears Extract A Sequel Moscow Downs Cda To Force Another Game For Title

The two missing teeth didn’t darken Leisha Bonine’s smile one bit.

Heck, this basketball player might have still been smiling ear-to-ear if she’d lost every bicuspid, incisor and molar in her mouth.

As long as the Moscow Bears won, it didn’t matter.

And they did, 47-38 over visiting Coeur d’Alene on Tuesday night. The victory forced another A-1 Region I championship game against the same Vikings tonight at 7 p.m. in Moscow. The winner will advance to the state tournament. The loser will go to a playoff with the third-place team from District III (Boise).

But without Bonine, who lost her two teeth playing defense early in the fourth quarter, the chance for another district championship, let alone a state tournament berth would have been remote.

The senior was 6 for 6 from the floor, 4 for 4 from the line, and oh yeah, 2 for 2 on teeth getting knocked out. In all, she had 18 points and probably has another hefty dentist bill headed her way.

You see, this is the second time Bonine has lost some pearly whites during a game. Three weeks ago, she lost one at Clarkston. She was supposed to pick up the replacement Tuesday morning, but didn’t.

“You can bet she’s going to be wearing a mouthguard tomorrow night,” said Moscow coach Sam Hoogsteen.

Now, if the Vikings can figure out how to cover the rest of her.

Early going in Tuesday’s tilt, it seemed that they had.

Playing pressure man-to-man defense, Coeur d’Alene only allowed eight first-quarter points and no rebounds. In fact, Moscow’s first 10 possessions resulted in five missed shots and five turnovers.

“Mentally I don’t think we were ready,” said Hoogsteen. “Our legs weren’t there and we didn’t come out and play.”

Bonine didn’t have a bucket. The Vikings had an eight-point lead, 16-8. But from there things started to fall apart for the Vikings. They only managed 11 combined points in the next two quarters, stopped executing on defense and began to get tentative.

“It was like we just stopped,” said CdA coach Bill Pratt, whose team shot 39 percent. “There was no motion to our offense.

“Then they (the Bears) got physical and we didn’t respond.”

Faced with some foul trouble early in the second quarter, CdA, traditionally a man-to-man team, switched to zone. Bonine quickly burned the Vikings.

She nailed a jump shot from the baseline, two 3-pointers and two free throws for 10 points in less than 4 minutes.

“We weren’t getting up on her,” said Pratt. “And those two 3-pointers really hurt us because it brought them back into the game.”

By half the Bears had taken a 24-22 lead they would never give up.

“Being a senior I knew that this was all coming to an end,” said Bonine. “I just didn’t want it to end, so I tried to be a leader out there and get everybody in the game.”

Bonine picked up six more points in the third. The Bears defense also continued to shut down the Vikings and forced them into seven turnovers and 2-for-7 shooting in the quarter.

“The defense, that was our sparkplug,” said Hoogsteen. “You know after that first quarter I talked to them, well, yelled at them, that we didn’t have any rebounds and that we had to get after it.”

Moscow 48, CdA 37

Coeur d’Alene 16 6 5 10 - 37

Moscow 8 16 12 12 - 48

Coeur d’Alene (18-6) - Lenz 1, 0-0, 2, Stranger 0, 2-2, 2, Ruiz 3, 0-2, 6, Douglas 3, 2-2, 8, Bielec 4, 0-0, 9 Budvarson 1, 0-3, 2, Davis 3, 2-4, 8. Totals: 15-39, 6-13, 37.

Moscow (19-5) - Bonine 6, 4-4, 18 points, Robinson 1, 0-0, 2, Thomas 1, 0-0, 2, Sorbel 1, 0-0, 2, Bisbee 0, 3-4, 3, Matthews 3, 0-0, 6, Hawley 1, 0-2, 2, Goetz 4, 5-7, 13. Totals 17-34, 12-17, 48.

3-point field goals: Bonine (Moscow) 2, Bielec (CdA) 1. Total fouls 32: Moscow 16, CdA 16. Fouled out: Thomas (Moscow), Ruiz (CdA).

Tourney moves

Because of a conflict with the A-1 Region I championship game, the girls A-3 District I-II tournament has been moved to Lewiston High’s Booth Hall.