Cda To Meridian: Stifle It Vikings Win Semi, Keep Eyes On Title

It’s a combination that has worked frequently this season: Defense and Davis.

That’s why the Coeur d’Alene High girls basketball team will be playing for the State A-1 championship tonight.

Shaylia Davis, missing in action at least on offense the past two games, returned and the Vikings’ defense was stifling as Coeur d’Alene shut down Meridian 35-30 in the semifinals Friday at the Idaho Center.

The Viks (24-1), who extended their winning streak to 23, will meet Skyview of Nampa (16-11) for the title tonight at 7 PST. The game will be tape-delayed on KVNI (1080-AM) following the North Idaho College/Southern Idaho men’s and women’s games.

In the other semifinal Friday, Skyview, the District III fourth seed, upset District III champ Boise 51-45.

In loser-out games, Blackfoot ran away from Centennial 66-46 and Madison was too much for Highland 52-30.

Coeur d’Alene 35, Meridian 30

Both teams played well defensively. The Viks were at the top of their defensive game - until the final few minutes.

CdA coach Bill Pratt reminded his team about finishing after the Viks let most of a 33-22 lead slip away with a little more than 1 minute remaining.

CdA, which used a combination of man-to-man and a 2-3 zone to smother the Warriors, went back to man-to-man, expecting Meridian to start launching 3-pointers.

Meridian’s Laura Nielson made two 3-pointers and Jaime Luke was fouled attempting a 3-pointer. It was all Pratt could do to contain himself on the sideline.

“Coaching, sometimes you look like an absolute idiot,” Pratt said. “It’s one of those games where I looked like an idiot. We made some really silly mistakes.”

Two free throws by Davis with 15 seconds left put enough breathing room between the Viks and Warriors.

CdA’s defense and perhaps some jitters were too much for Meridian in the third quarter. The Warriors, playing in their first semifinal since 1983, didn’t make a field goal in the quarter.

That allowed CdA to open a 26-16 lead going into the fourth period.

The Viks’ biggest lead came at 32-20 when Brittany Douglas made two free throws with 3:55 left.

The defensive effort involved all the Viks. Davis, Douglas and reserve Whytnie Budvarson fronted and denied Meridian’s posts, but CdA’s perimeter players wouldn’t give the Warriors guard even so much as a peek at getting the ball inside.

Meridian coach Connie Skogrand praised CdA’s defense.

“They played excellent defense,” Skogrand said. “We got a little flustered.”

Davis, held to six points Thursday and eight in CdA’s regional title victory, was nearly unstoppable despite the fact that Meridian used a box-and-1 defense on her for half the game.

Davis, who is bound for Boise State, scored 10 of CdA’s 14 first-half points, finishing with a game-high 18 on 6-of-10 shooting. Her shots ranged from 15-footers to put-backs. “I can understand why she’s been signed already as a (NCAA) Division I player,” Skogrand said. “They did the smart thing and got the ball into her hands and she hit some key buckets.”

Davis was inspired.

“I was mad at how I played last night,” Davis said. “I went to dinner and I didn’t eat my dinner. I just stared at it because I knew I could have done so much better than I did, and that was like the worst game of my entire season. I told myself today I was going to go out hard.”

Said Pratt: “We needed it. She looked like she belonged in college ball tonight. Tonight, I looked like I belonged coaching her. Last night, I felt like `Who in the hell is coaching that girl? Get rid of him, he’s terrible.”’

CdA is playing in its first title game since 1993-94 - the year before the school split and Lake City opened. Skyview is playing the first title game in the four-year history of the school but should enjoy a big hometown crowd.

The Viks, who placed third last year, are in the game they wanted to reach. Now they just have to finish the job, senior point guard Patti Stranger said.

“We’ve just got to go play and have fun,” said Stranger, who had six assists. “That’s what we’ve done all season. We’re not going to change a whole lot now.”

Meridian 5 9 2 14 - 30

Coeur d’Alene 4 10 12 9 - 35

Meridian - Luke 3 3-5 10, Bentzinger 0 0-0 0, Anlauf 0 0-0 0, Jossis 0 2-4 2, Nielson 4 2-2 12, Conroy 0 0-0 0, Zacharias 0 0-0 0, Pierce 1 4-4 6. Totals 8 11-15 30.

Coeur d’Alene - Lenz 2 0-0 5, Stranger 0 1-2 1, Vig 0 0-0 0, Baracco 0 0-0 0, Hauck 1 0-0 3, Bielec 1 0-3 3, Douglas 2 2-2 6, Budvarson 0 0-0 0, Davis 6 6-6 18. Totals 12 9-13 35.

3-point goals - Nielson, Luke, Lenz, Bielec. Total fouls - Meridian 16, Coeur d’Alene 12. Fouled out - none.