Viks Have Cake, Eat It Too Third-Place Finish Culminates Season Of Surprise

It was mission more than accomplished for the Coeur d’Alene High girls basketball team.

Heck, the Vikings’ objective at the start of the season, with an underclassmen-laden team back from an 8-15 year, was to be competitive and finish among the top three of six Inland Empire League teams.

That achieved, the rest has been frosting. Coeur d’Alene finished with a sweet taste in its mouth Saturday, capturing the third-place trophy in the State A-1 tournament with a 40-33 victory over Madison in the Idaho Center.

It’s a taste the Vikings plan to savor. But they hope it makes them hungry for more next year.

“It took a while for it to sink in that we were going to state,” CdA senior wing Krissi Ruiz said. “So it’ll take a while for this to hit me. This team deserves what it’s gotten, if not more. Going into the year we didn’t even think it’d be possible to go to state. So that trophy means a lot.”

The trophy is CdA’s first since 1993-94 when the Viks went 25-0. That was the year before the school split when Lake City High opened.

In the consolation game, Meridian bopped Burley 52-30.

Coeur d’Alene 40, Madison 33

From the start Saturday the Viks were determined to make sure Shaylia Davis didn’t have to carry them.

As it was, Davis physically wouldn’t have been able to shoulder the load because her back suffered spasms before and after she scored 25 points of CdA’s 36 in nearly 29 minutes of intense play the night before against Borah.

She’s worn football pads around her waist and hips all season to soften the impact when she falls.

“It wasn’t too bad. I was sore,” Davis said. “I was mainly tired.”

Davis’ teammates stepped up immediately in the first quarter. Six different Viks scored, seven by halftime, and nine saw playing time.

CdA (21-7) established control early, building as much as an 11-point lead late in the second quarter before taking a 24-15 advantage into halftime.

The Viks didn’t have any trouble against Madison’s fullcourt pressure in the first half. But the Bobcats (23-3) had a few sneak attacks in the second half that helped keep them from getting blown out.

Two free throws from Ruiz put CdA ahead 33-20 with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter. CdA would score just seven points over the next 10:25.

CdA made matters worse by committing 11 of its 17 turnovers in the second half, six in the fourth quarter.

Still, solid defense allowed the Viks to keep the Bobcats from creeping closer than three points. Two free throws from Charity Price pulled Madison within 36-33 with 1:53 remaining.

That would be Madison’s final points. Vik Dani Bielec, who hit a critical 3-pointer midway in the fourth quarter, made both ends of a one-and-one with 44 seconds left to give CdA some breathing room.

“She gets a little reluctant, but she’s a good shooter. She’s a sophomore and sophomores have a tendency to hesitate,” CdA coach Bill Pratt said of Bielec. “Once she learns what she can do she’s going to be a great player.”

Point guard Patti Stranger, who sat out 12 minutes in the first half when saddled with foul trouble, secured the trophy with two more foul shots with :24 to go.

Davis finished with nine points, five below her average. But she hauled in double her average of rebounds with 12.

She missed three consecutive easy shots, attempts she makes in her sleep, during CdA’s stagnant stretch in the fourth quarter. Davis didn’t use her tender back as an excuse, though.

Pratt thought his team missed as many opportunities to get Davis the ball when Madison applied concentrated pressure at the point of attack.

“We got a little out of sync and speeded up,” Pratt said of the final-quarter mistakes. “(The kids) misinterpreted breaking (Madison’s press) with stalling. I could not get them from just trying to hang on and get out of there alive into moving the ball with four or five passes.”

No Vik scored in double figures. Bielec supported Davis with nine points and three assists. Eight players scored after just four other than Davis had scored against Borah.

Coeur d’Alene 40, Madison 33

Coeur d’Alene 14 10 9 7 - 40

Madison 9 6 7 11 - 33

Coeur d’Alene - Lenz 2 0-0 4, Stranger 0 2-3 2, Holte 0 0-0 0, Vig 0 2-2 2, Ruiz 2 3-4 7, Douglas 1 0-0 2, Bielec 2 4-4 9, Griffitts 1 3-4 5, Budvarson 0 0-0 0, Davis 3 0-0 9. Totals 11 17-22 40.

Madison - Kar. Holman 1 2-4 4, Kac. Holman 0 0-0 0, Sellers 0 0- 2 0, Price 0 2-2 2, Holloway 2 0-1 4, Wilcox 1 2-4 5, Mortensen 1 0-0 2, Mathews 3 3-4 11, Heiner 1 1-4 3, Erickson 1 0-0 2. Totals 10 10-21 33.

3-point goals - Bielec, Mathews 2, Wilcox. Total fouls - C 20, M 20. Fouled out - Heiner. Technicals - none.