Curlew ends long Panorama drought

Curlew advanced to the championship game of the Panorama League girls basketball tournament for the first time since 1978 with a 51-41 victory over visiting Republic on Friday.

Sacha Hall scored all four of her points on a layup and two free throws in the final minute to secure the win for Curlew (20-2), which will meet Cusick (21-1) in the championship game Friday at Colville.

The last time the Cougars reached the title game they went on to capture the state championship.

Nicole Miller scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Cougars, with Brittany Strandberg adding another 14 points and six steals.

The Cougars held Republic to 1-of-9 shooting in the first quarter, building an 11-2 advantage.

Sarah Knapton scored 13 points to lead Republic, which entertains St. George’s on Monday at 6 p.m.

Cusick 65, Inchelium 47: Taunie Cullooyah scored just four points for the Panthers, but was invaluable on defense, holding Inchelium’s leading scorer, Chelsie Pakootas, to 13 points – nine below her total from the team’s previous meeting. Misty Ostlie had 23 points and nine rebounds to lead Cusick, with Kimberly Bluff adding 15 and 10 rebounds. Inchelium hosts Selkirk in a loser-out game Monday. … Selkirk 72, Springdale 51: The Rangers (11-11) had four players in double figures in the loser-out game, led by Chelsi Shaw’s 19-point effort. Kelly Scherf scored seven points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots for Selkirk. … St. George’s 62, Wellpinit 56: Ashley Herling’s four-point play with 2:40 left put the Dragons over the top in the loser-out game. Wellpinit gained ground in the third quarter, outscoring St. George’s 17-9, but Jessee Rouse kept the Dragons (9-13) in the lead with a couple of clutch field goals. Rouse finished with 19 points to lead St. George’s, which plays at Republic Monday at 6. Samantha Flett had 26 points to lead Wellpinit.

Great Northern League

Rams tie knot in GNL race

Riverside forged a three-way tie for second in the Great Northern League by upending Lakeside 53-34 at Nine Mile Falls. Angela Hartill scored 13 of her game-high 17 points in the first half and Terri Dalnes added 14 to led the Rams. Riverside (14-4, 7-3) is tied with the Eagles and Deer Park, a game behind league-leading Chewelah.

Kia Gibson led Lakeside (14-4, 7-3) with 12 points.

Deer Park 44, Pullman 37: Laura Gibson scored 14 of the Stags’ 18 fourth-quarter points and finished with 25 points to lead all scorers. Deer Park (14-4, 7-3) also got 11 points and eight rebounds from Nikki Tudor. Pullman (9-9, 4-6) got 13 points from Jamie Thornton. … Colville 48, Medical Lake 45: Colville (2-16, 1-9) scored its first league win when Raylynn Martin buried a 3-pointer in the final 30 seconds at Colville. Martin finished with 19 points and Melissa Rice added 14. Richelle Daily led all scorers with 20 points for the Cardinals (5-13, 1-9).

Northeast A League

Top-ranked Scotties run table

Freeman completed an undefeated run through the league with an 80-32 romp past visiting Newport.

Freeman (17-2, 6-0), the top-ranked team in the state in the latest Associated Press poll, shot 62 percent in the second half, where it outscored the Grizzlies 47-8. Claire Moberg and Ashlee Taylor both scored 16 points to lead the Scotties. Maria Barranco, who averages 20 points per game for Newport (9-11, 0-6), was held to six points on 3-of-28 shooting.

Freeman will play Newport Friday at Mead in the first-round of the NEA tournament.

Bi-County League tournament

Clark leads ACH to win in opener

Kami Clark scored 23 points, grabbed seven rebounds and collected four steals to lead Almira/Coulee-Hartline (19-2) to a 64-36 victory over visiting Odessa (5-16) in the opening round of the tournament.

Michelle Balcom drilled five 3-pointers and contributed 17 points while Molly Gwinn scored 11 points, grabbed 10 boards and dished off four assists for the Warriors, who play Lind-Ritzville Tuesday at Reardan. Odessa plays Davenport at Reardan.

Lind-Ritzville 37, Davenport 23: The Broncos (12-9) held visiting Davenport scoreless in the second quarter to take control of the opening-round game. Mikaela Schmunk scored nine of her 15 points in the fourth quarter to lead Lind-Ritzville. The Gorillas (10-11) were held to just 10 field goals in the game. … Liberty 55, Northwest Christian 46: Shawn Hennessey scored 13 points and Jessica Hahner dished off 10 assists to lead the Lancers (14-7) at Spangle. Cami Bullock had a career-high 12 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Liberty, which plays Sprague-Harrington Tuesday at Reardan. The Crusaders (8-13), who got 11 points from Sara Fairburn, play Wilbur-Creston. … Sprague-Harrington 59, Wilbur-Creston 47: The Falcons (18-3) held a decisive 36-24 advantage on the boards in the win at home. Abby Hatten had 17 points and Stacie Shields 12 to lead Sprague-Harrington. The Wildcats (7-14) got 14 points from Maddisen Peterson and another 12 from Zenda Reidt.

Whitman League tournament

Riedner’s steal lifts Colton

Casey Riedner picked off an Asotin pass and scored with two seconds left to lift Colton to a 42-40 victory in a loser-out game at Endicott.

Colton (7-14) came from behind in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Panthers 16-10 in the final eight minutes.

Riedner’s 16-points led the Wildcats. Ali Uhlenkott scored 16 to lead Asotin (2-18), which had three players suspended for rule violations prior to the game.

St. John-Endicott 63, Rosalia 38: The Eagles (14-7) took control early and rolled to victory in the loser-out game at Endicott. Ellen Miller had 21 points and Katie Corder 16 to lead St. John-Endicott, which plays Asotin today at 4 at Endicott. The Eagels shot 47 percent (22-48) from the field.

Boys Whitman League tournament

Eagles fly high to beat Colton

St. John-Endicott tied a Whitman County League tournament record for team points in a 92-74 victory over Colton in a loser-out game at Endicott.

Colton’s Kyle Schultheis scored a career-high 33 points to close out his high school career. Schultheis, the league’s leading scorer, averaged 22.2 points per game this season, amassing 425 points. Bryce Johnson led the Eagles with 23 points.

St. John-Endicott (12-9) led by just three points at intermission, but opened the second half by drilling a pair of 3-pointers and a layup to go up by 11 and take control of the game.

Asotin 59, Rosalia 41: The Panthers did not attempt a field goal in the fourth quarter, but converted 19 of 30 attempts from the free throw line to earn the victory, which sends them into a 5:30 p.m. game today with St. John-Endicott.

Tyler Swensen paced Asotin with 17 points. Rosalia shot just 3 of 23 from the field in the second half.

Great Northern League

Greyhounds start fast, stop Stags

Pullman built a nine-point led in the first half at home and turned away Deer Park 49-39 to stay atop the league. Ben Hein had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Greyhounds (13-5, 8-2). Nathan Shea scored 14 points and Brad Harper had eight rebounds for the Stags (8-10, 3-7).

Medical Lake 59, Colville 42: The Cardinals (15-3, 7-3), winners of seven straight, had three players score in double figures at Colville, led by Steven Wesley’s 16 points. Dan Bell had a dozen points to lead Colville (5-13, 1-9). … Lakeside-Nine Mile Falls 63, Riverside 57: The Eagles trailed 49-40 with 6:30 left and rallied to the victory at Nine Mile Falls. Alex Stillar pumped in 11 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, burying three 3-pointers in the period. Garrett Perkins’ 23 points and 10 rebounds paced Lakeside (9-9, 5-5). Riverside (11-7, 6-4) got 15 points from Buddy Woods.

Northeast A League

Freeman romps in finale

Freeman scored a 104-38 victory over visiting Newport to close out its regular season and an undefeated Northeast A League campaign.

The Scotties (18-2, 6-0), ranked No. 2 in the state, had five players in double figures on Senior Night, led by Jason Bailey’s 15 points. Luke Heinen added 14 for Freeman, which opens the NEA tournament Friday at Mead against the Grizzlies. Newport (4-15, 0-6) got 12 from Myles Melendez.

Caribou Trail League

Free throws aid Lake Roosevelt

Lake Roosevelt shot 19 of 26 from the free throw line to turn away visiting Liberty Bell 73-51 in a Caribou Trail League game. The Raiders, who forced the Mountain Lions into 23 turnovers, got 19 points from Omar Fercha and 15 from Jarred Erickson.