Bowman aims LC to win
Third-ranked Lewis and Clark hasn’t seen many teams with the collective speed of Gonzaga Prep.
G-Prep applied pressure to neutralize the Tigers’ backcourt, but the inside presence of LC’s Heather Bowman proved too much for the Bullpups to overcome in a 55-47 Greater Spokane League girls basketball home win for the undefeated Tigers (15-0, 8-0).
“We had no answer for Heather,” G-Prep head coach Mike Arte said of Bowman, who scored 21 points and pulled down eight rebounds. “We did a good job on the perimeter, but we couldn’t get backside help on her fast enough.”
Most of Bowman’s points came out of an effective half-court offense, in which the 6-foot-2 junior sealed smaller Bullpups defenders and took lobs for inside buckets.
LC ran into problems when it couldn’t get into a half-court offense, thanks to a G-Prep defense that forced 24 turnovers. The Bullpups (11-4, 6-2) twice made defense-sparked runs to nearly erase big LC leads.
In the fourth quarter, with LC building a 48-29 lead after an 18-4 third-quarter spurt, the Bullpups whittled the lead to eight with 2:35 to go.
G-Prep had three shots to make it closer, but the Tigers ended any comeback hopes with 55 seconds left when Briann January found Bowman for a layin, one of January’s seven assists.
“It’s a huge thing for them (G-Prep) to come back like that,” LC head coach Jim Redmon said of the Bullpups, who also made a 13-4 second-quarter run to come within one. “We didn’t play well. Our goals were so much higher than what we played, and Prep had a lot to do with that.”
The third quarter proved to be the difference in the game, as G-Prep went cold, shooting only 2 for 13 from the field. Bowman took advantage of some openings on the other end, scoring seven in the quarter.
January, who has signed with Arizona State, struggled from the field, shooting 2 of 8 for seven points. Sophomore Lyndi Seidensticker shouldered some of the Tigers’ scoring load, scoring 14, including LC’s only two 3-pointers.
G-Prep could feel good about the effort, Arte said, a necessity going into its most important week of the regular season, with games against Central Valley and Mt. Spokane.
“We’ve got our chins up and our heads up,” Arte said.
University 64, Mt. Spokane 44
Angie and Jami Bjorklund combined for 20 first-half points as the second-ranked Titans (15-0, 8-0) raced to a 40-18 halftime lead and cruised over the host Wildcats (12-3, 6-2). U-Hi’s Emily Kuipers and Tonya Schnibbe combined for 30 points. Jami finished with 15 and Angie had 14. Katelan Redmon had 12 to lead Mt. Spokane.
Mead 48, North Central 40
Mead bounced back from a big NC third quarter to win the fourth quarter and the game. Alysha Green had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Panthers (8-6, 5-3). Shantel Haugen had nine of her team-high 13 in the third quarter for the visiting Indians (9-6, 2-6).
Central Valley 59, Rogers 33
Sarah Gehring had 11 of her 25 points during a 15-0 CV run in the third quarter to help the host Bears (12-3, 7-1) take over third place. Gehring was 11 of 15 from the floor, and Kayla Reilly added 10 points. Rikeya Crossley had 10 for the Pirates (0-15, 0-8).
Shadle Park 60, Clarkston 52
Jackie Gabriel scored seven of her 20 in the fourth quarter to help the Highlanders (4-11, 3-5) to a home win over the Bantams (7-8, 2-6). Lexie Pettersen added 19 for Shadle, and Lexi Bishop had 10 points, six steals and four assists. Missy Atkinson led the Bantams with 26 points.
Ferris 52, Cheney 41
Jenna Galloway (12), Stacey Cox (16) and Lexi Lallas (18) combined for 46 points in the Saxons’ road win. Lallas was 12 of 18 from the free-throw line for Ferris (7-8, 5-3). Bree Parkinson led the Blackhawks (2-13, 0-8) with 10 points.
East Valley 74, West Valley 52
The visiting Knights (7-8, 3-5) took advantage of 21 West Valley turnovers, and Katie Storey had 15 points and five rebounds in the win. Kelsey Hentges had 17 to lead the Knights. Lisa Stoll paced the Eagles (1-14, 1-7) with 14 points.