Pf Wins As Drought Strikes

Scoring droughts. They’re those long, painfully agonizing periods of time in a basketball game where it seems nothing works, no matter what you try. They change the momentum of a game and are a coach’s worst nightmare.

If that’s the case, Lake City girls coach Darren Taylor probably experienced a doozy last night.

The Post Falls Trojans, behind an interior defense that harassed the Timberwolves into some woeful shooting figures, defeated Lake City 39-27 in Border League action Friday night in Lake City’s gym.

How big were those scoring lapses for the T-Wolves?

Lake City fought back from a 7-2 deficit late in the first quarter, knotting the score 10-10 on a 3-pointer by Cassie Bro with 3:28 left in the second.

And just when things were looking up came … Drought No. 1: Lake City would fail to score over the next 5 minutes, turning the ball over eight times in that span. The result? A 19-10 Trojans advantage early in the third quarter.

The T-Wolves appeared to settle down a bit. When Bro was fouled on a baseline drive, converting both free throws with 1:06 left in the period, Post Falls held a 26-18 lead. And then?

Drought No. 2: Lake City would not score again until 3:12 remained in the game when Bro hit a 3-pointer from the corner. Before that shot, Post Falls had stretched its advantage to 36-18.

Game, set, match, Post Falls.

“We missed a lot of open shots,” Taylor said. “Some of that was fear of their inside defense. We rushed a lot of shots. We got some good looks. We just didn’t make them.”

That interior defense was led by sisters Desiree and Aubree Johnson who seemed to have at least one hand in the face of any T-Wolf brave enough to enter the paint. And the Johnsons got a lift from senior Kristen Olson who filled in admirably when Desiree picked up her third foul and Aubree her fourth.

Olson provided a spark for the Trojans with a couple of clutch rebounds and steady defense.

“I just wanted to go after the boards and make sure everyone stayed fired-up and was getting after it,” Olson said. “It just came down to intensity and hustle, whoever wanted it more and I think we showed that we did.”

The T-Wolves (4-5 Border League, 5-6 overall) were 8 of 41 from the field (just over 19 percent). They actually warmed up a bit in the second half after a 2-of-17 first-half effort.

“It was mostly us just not going to openings and not creating,” Bro said. “They played good, but we just didn’t make the cuts and find the openings.”

And while Post Falls coach Chris Johnson was happy with his team’s defensive effort, he had another reason to smile following the game.

The Trojans’ win was the first ever over a Lake City team in the T-Wolves’ gym, ending a drought of their own that began when Lake City opened its doors five years ago.

“They don’t come easy here,” Johnson said. “I was real proud of our kids because last night’s game (a win over Moscow) was really physical. But the girls didn’t hang their heads. They came out and went after it.”

Johnson was also pleased with his teams’ ability to break Lake City’s press and its defense on Bro, the T-Wolves’ leading scorer who finished with 15 hard-earned points.

“Our guards did a real good job of handling their press,” Johnson said. “If you let them get rolling, they’re tough to stop. It didn’t always look pretty, but we usually got it done.

“I thought we did a pretty good job of keeping track of (Bro). We made her earn her points.”

Post Falls (9-4 BL, 10-4) got balanced scoring from Desiree Johnson (10), Carmi Eberle (8), and Aubree Johnson (7).

Post Falls 39, Lake City 27

Post Falls 9 8 12 10 - 39

Lake City 5 5 8 9 27

Post Falls (9-4, 10-4)-Eberle 2 2-2 8, Kane 0 0-0 0, Stockwell 2 0-0 4, Ridenour 1 3-4 5, Roberge 0 0-0 0, Holland 0 0-0 0, Olson 2 0-2 4, A. Johnson 2 2-2 7, D. Johnson 3 4-5 10, Young 0 1-4 1. Totals 12 12-19 39.

Lake City (4-5, 5-6)-Smith 0 0-0 0, Chamberlain 1 0-0 2, Carpenter 1 0-0 2, Colwell 0 2-4 2, Cook 1 0-0 2, Mitchell 0 2-2 2, Bro 5 2-2 15, Hanson 0 2-3 2. Totals 8 8-11 27.

3-point goals-Eberle 2, A. Johnson, Bro 3. Total fouls-Post Falls 11, Lake City 15. Fouled out-Colwell. Technicals-none.

Coeur d’Alene 67, Clarkston 29

Shaylia Davis had 11 rebounds and shot 6 of 10 from the floor to guide the visiting Vikings over the Bantams.

CdA’s Erica Hauck hit all three of her 3-point attempts.

Coeur d’Alene 16 17 20 14 - 67

Clarkston 8 4 10 7 - 29

Coeur d’Alene (11-1, 10-0) - Lenz 4 0-0 8, Stranger 4 2-4 10, Vig 3 0-0 6, Baracco 0 4-4 4, Hauck 4 1-2 12, Bielec 2 0-0 5, Douglas 1 3-5 5, Budvarson 1 0-1 2, Davis 6 3-3 15. Totals 25 13-19 67.

Clarkston (1-6, 1-6) - Ball 0 0-0 0, King 0 0-0 0, Smith 5 2-2 12, O’Kelley 1 0-0 2, Holthaus 0 2-2 2, Gribble 0 0-0 0, Jones 1 0-0 2, Pavey 1 2-3 4, Larson 1 0-2 2, Atkinson 2 1-5 5. Totals 11 7-13 29.

3-point goals - Hauck 3, Bielec. Total fouls - Coeur d’Alene 11, Clarkston 14. Fouled out - none. Technicals - none.

Colville 44, Cheney 39

Alyssa Meinhold scored 19, including a 12-foot jumper with 50 seconds left for a three-point lead, and the visiting Indians held off the Blackhawks.

Cheney had a 21-11 lead in the second quarter, but committed 10 consecutive turnovers to open the second half. Cheney’s Brittney Van Matre hit three of her four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.

Colville 11 10 11 12 - 44

Cheney 18 6 4 11 - 39

Colville (7-2, 5-2) - Adams 1 1-2 3, Shaw 3 2-2 8, Meinhold 9 1-2 19, McConnell 0 0-0 0, Fondell 2 0-0 4, Kroiss 0 0-0 0, Sinn 0 0-0 0, Doolin 0 0-0 0, Pein 2 0-0 4, McGrane 3 0-0 6. Totals 20 4-6 44.

Cheney (3-8, 2-7) - Anderson 1 0-0 2, Van Matre 4 0-0 12, Brannan 0 0-0 0, McLauchlin 5 3-5 15, Callahan 0 0-0 0, Marsh 2 0-1 4, Oyolokor 3 0-2 6. Totals 15 3-8 39.

3-point goals - Van Matre 4, McLauchlin 2. Total fouls - Colville 14, Cheney 11. Fouled out - None. Technicals - None.

Thursday’s IML result

Priest River 48, Kellogg 36

Angie Turner scored 15 to lead the visiting Spartans over the Wildcats.

Priest River 11 8 11 18 - 48

Kellogg 8 5 16 7 - 36

Priest River (11-3, 3-1) - Troudt 3, Brooks 4, Rasmussen 0, Oscarson 4, Naccarato 3, Mack 0, Yount 9, Turner 15, Lemm 2, Kreager 0, Cork 4, Guthrie 4.

Kellogg (4-7, 0-4) - Poulson 7, Burkgart 10, Martello 4, Mercado 0, Schonewald 2, Hoeck 8, Lodi 1, Absec 2, Scudder 2, Rose 0.