Without Pomante, Bullpups spanked

Mt. Spokane suffered the dreaded girls basketball curse.

And it wasn’t because the Wildcats faced a former teammate or suffered the indignity of a 75-20 thumping by last year’s State 4A finisher Lewis and Clark.

It is that feared three-letter acronym “ACL,” so often the bane of female athletes. Fourth-year point guard Leah Pomante tore her anterior cruciate ligament last Friday against Mead and will undergo surgery in two weeks.

Without her, not to mention the move of Katelan Redmon to LC, Mt. Spokane is a shadow of last year’s regional qualifier.

“It takes the wind out of our sails a bit,” coach Jeanne Helfer said. “She’s been a leader since she was a freshman. I can’t replace Leah.”

Without her, the Wildcats were forced to rely on game, but outsized and inexperienced sophomores in the backcourt. They had no answer for LC’s smothering full court press.

The Tigers pulled away during a 16-point run en route to a 30-3 lead. They scored the first 27 points of the second half to improve to 70-16. Mt. Spokane’s first basket of the half came with 3:03 to play.

The visitors, with nine available players, outscored Lewis and Clark 13-7 over a four-minute span in the second quarter.

But the home team exhibited an embarrassment of riches. Thirteen different Tigers scored, led by Heather Bowman’s 16 points and eight rebounds.

In two wins, LC has scored 139 points and allowed just 45.

“Probably more than anything else,” Redmon said, “it allows the kids to play and the younger kids to develop. We’re just trying to find ourselves.”

That is the case at Mt. Spokane (0-2) as well. Helfer played four sophomores extensively and guards Tiara Pittman, newcomer Avery Hallman and Chelsea Jones will be asked replace Pomante.

“My kids demonstrated a lot of heart in the Mead game. Tonight wasn’t our best effort, but LC’s very good,” Helfer said. “The team may have a chance to pull this together, but Leah won’t, so that breaks my heart.”

Redmon said that as the season goes on his team will be tested.

But, he acknowledged, “We’re a real deep team. Down the road that could be a real positive come playoff time.”

University 77, West Valley 36

The Titans (2-0) outscored the host Eagles (0-2) 27-6 in the second quarter en route to the easy win. Four players scored in double figures, including Dara Zack who had 15 points and five assists.

Among those joining her, on a night when the Titans shot better than 60 percent from the field, was sophomore newcomer Kelsey Mitchell (10). Olivia Parvey had a dozen points for WV, which outrebounded U-Hi 27-19.

Gonzaga Prep 67, Cheney 32

The Bullpups (3-0), thanks to Corinna O’Brien and Georgia Burke, wreaked havoc with their full-court press at Cheney (1-1).

Prep forced 33 turnovers while committing just seven and put the game away with a 42-11 scoring advantage in the middle two quarters. Three players – Sarah Jennings (13 points), O’Brien and Tara Cronin (11 apiece) led the offense.

Central Valley 47, East Valley 31

Heidi Heintz (18 points) and Salena Leavitt (14) provided nearly three-quarters of CV’s offense, and a 13-4 fourth-quarter run helped the visiting Bears (2-1) shake the pesky Knights (1-1).

CV had led 30-15, but EV halved the margin in the third quarter.

Mead 58, North Central 34

Third quarter proved to be the difference for the Panthers (2-0) in a home victory over the Indians (0-2). Mead outscored NC 18-4 to take a 45-19 lead.

Alysha Green scored 11 points, Kami Clark 10 and Nikki Nelson had six steals and eight deflections for the Panthers. Ashlee Michelson and Alicia Kahler scored in double figures for the Indians.

Shadle Park 46, Ferris 37

The host Highlanders (3-0) remained perfect this season while the Saxons (0-2) are still looking for their first win.

Behind after a quarter, Shadle took its first lead with six minutes left in the first half and steadily increased it. Lexi Bishop (19 points) came through at the free throw line, hitting 9 of 14 attempts.

Clarkston 64, Rogers 42

The Bantams (1-1) got 14 points and five steals from Misty Atkinson and 11 rebounds from Patsy Dodge-Auer during the home win over the Pirates (0-2). Rikeya Crossley led Rogers with 11 points.