Cf Tops Sloppy Eagles

A-4 District I

The similarities between a preseason scrimmage and the A-4 District I girls basketball championship game occurred much too frequently Wednesday night.

Nevertheless, Clark Fork climbed from the error-riddled matchup with a 39-28 win over the Falls Christian Eagles, giving the Wampus Cats the district’s No. 1 seed and the Eagles No. 2 into the state tournament beginning Wednesday.

Clark Fork’s mediocre half-court press gave the Eagles (7-12 overall) major trouble.

“We changed our press up a little for Falls (Christian),” Wampus Cats coach Mark Stevens said after his team improved to 14-7. “We tried to trap at halfcourt. It’s the only thing we did different than against other teams.”

But the press wasn’t responsible for many of FCA’s problems; it was poor ball-handling and worse shooting.

“Our offense was not falling for us tonight,” FCA coach Marlo Hutchison said. “We weren’t executing very well.”

The Eagles gave the ball up on 15 of 17 possessions leading into and out of intermission, causing their first-half 15-13 lead to disappear early in the third.

“We’re not real strong on offense,” Stevens said. “Our strength is the defense. That’s what we score off - turnovers.”

Courtaney Kiebert, a 5-foot-5 guard, opened and closed the scoring in the third quarter for the Wampus Cats. Kiebert’s 15-foot banker tied the Eagles at 15, and a string of FCA turnovers eased Clark Fork’s 12-2 run. Kiebert’s 3-pointer at the buzzer capped the spurt at 25-17. Kiebert scored a game-high 16 points, including two 3s.

Jackie Poole’s 10-footer from the left baseline pulled the Eagles within 29-26 with about 4 minutes remaining. Clark Fork sealed the win with a Kati Hess layin and a basket off a steal by Kiebert with 1:30 remaining to pull ahead 38-26.

It may have been a mirage, but the Wampus Cats were able to make 11-of-45 shooting from the field look good. Their 15 of 26 from the foul line looked great, hitting 13 of them in the fourth quarter.

The state tourney will consist of 16 teams and will be played at two different locations. The Wampus Cats will open against the District III runner-up at 5:30 PST at Skyview High in Nampa.

The Eagles will will play the District IV runner-up at 2:15 PST at Kuna High School. First-round opponents have yet to be decided.

It will be the first appearance at state for the Eagles. Clark Fork hasn’t been since 1993-94.

Falls Christian 16 14 22 16 - 68

Clark Fork 11 8 12 16 - 47

Falls Christian (7-12) - Johnson 4, Pang 0, Williams 4, Dunning 2, Poole 2, Moate 12, Taylor 4, Jenkins 0, Hayman 0.

Clark Fork (14-7) - Rocha 0, Ruen 0, Miller 3, Kiebert 16, Decker 0, Dugan 4, Scofield 2, Saunders 0, Hess 7, McDaniel 0, McDaniel 0, Worcester 7.