Sports banquet tonight

The 44th annual North Idaho Sports Banquet, which honors standout high school and college athletes and coaches, will be held tonight at 6:30 at the Coeur d’Alene Inn.

The Idaho Athletic Hall of Fame will induct Dean Lundblad, former Coeur d’Alene High boys basketball coach; ex-University of Idaho football standouts Ken Hobart and Mike Hollis; and former Vandals basketball great Brian Kellerman.

Coeur d’Alene High girls basketball coach Dale Poffenroth will be the guest speaker.

Basketball

North Idaho College forward Sara Dennehy and guard Stephanie Jones have made oral commitments to play for the University of Idaho, NIC women’s coach Chris Carlson said.

Dennehy averaged 14.7 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Cardinals, who won the Scenic West Athletic Conference title. She was selected first-team All-Region 18 for the second consecutive year.

Jones, a second-team All-Region 18 selection, was second in the SWAC in steals (2.77 per game), second in free-throw percentage (76.9) and seventh in assists (2.8). Jones was honorable mention All-Region 18 last year.

“I think it’s a real good fit for both of them,” Carlson said. “They lose Emily Faurholt and (Idaho coach) Mike (Divilbiss) is looking for somebody who can score some points, and that’s what he likes about Sara.

“(Vandals point guard) Leilani Mitchell has been playing about 40 minutes a game and I think Mike likes how hard Stephanie plays. To learn from Leilani and give her a little break in games … by her second year, Steph should be in fine position.”

NIC guard Caitlin Courchaine (Central Valley High) has orally committed to Carroll College, an NAIA school in Helena. Courchaine averaged 10.8 points per game and led the Cardinals in field-goal percentage (47.4) and free-throw percentage (86.4).

NIC guard Emily Boscacci has orally committed to Portland State of the Big Sky. Boscacci led the Cardinals with 97 assists.

Baseball

Dustin Colclough was 3 for 4 and Scott Campbell hit his fourth home run of the season as Gonzaga defeated Santa Clara (18-14, 1-3) 5-1 to open a three-game West Coast Conference series at Avista Stadium.

C.J. McClure, Jay Bryner and Brandon Harmon each threw 12/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Bulldogs (22-10, 4-0).

Starter Josh Monroe threw three scoreless innings before an apparent shoulder injury, and closer Cory Powell allowed his first earned run of the season in the ninth.

Gonzaga earned its ninth straight win and has won 15 of 18.

•Brandon Crawford hit a two-out grand slam in the fourth inning and UCLA (17-13, 2-2) nearly blew a nine-run advantage before holding off Washington State 9-5 in a Pac-10 game in Los Angeles.

The Cougars (21-11, 3-4) rallied with five runs in the seventh – including a two-run, pinch-hit single by Scott Suttmeier – and loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth. But two strikeouts and a fielder’s choice ended the rally.

•Washington ace Tim Lincecum threw his second consecutive two-hitter as the Huskies (22-11, 4-3) routed No. 13 Arizona State 8-0 in a Pac-10 game in Tempe, Ariz. Lincecum, who holds a scoreless streak of 282/3 innings, struck out 12 Sun Devils (23-10, 2-2) and became the third player in Pac-10 history with 400 career strikeouts.

Softball

North Idaho overcame five errors to defeat Southern Nevada 5-4 in nine innings in the first game of a Scenic West Athletic Conference tripleheader in Coeur d’Alene.

Kelcey Cavan threw 42/3 innings of scoreless relief to earn the win for the 20th-ranked Cardinals, and catcher Stephanie James had three hits.

After dropping the middle game 5-4 to the Coyotes (7-26, 7-20), the Cardinals (30-10, 18-7) won the nightcap 5-1 behind Cavan’s five-hitter. Michelle St. John had a pair of hits, and Jessica Keeton had three RBIs.

•Amber Fowler (Colville) hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth to give Community Colleges of Spokane a 1-0 win over host Wenatchee Valley to open an NWAACC doubleheader.

In the nightcap, Wenatchee scored five unearned runs in a six-run third inning, and the Knights (13-7, 6-2) hung on for a 14-10 victory. Tasia Dugan and Melissa Piephoff (Timberlake High) each homered for the Sasquatch (13-5, 7-2).