LC prevails in latest battle with U-Hi

A good book hooks the reader in chapter one and pulls them along on an adventure, page after page, leading up to a big payoff at the finish.

The same can be said about the Lewis and Clark-University girls basketball rivalry.

The Tigers, the defending State 4A champions, needed overtime to get past the Titans, last year’s third-place state team, 75-71 in a Greater Spokane League showdown Friday at Hunter Fieldhouse.

“This has been such a great rivalry between these two schools over the past few seasons,” LC coach Jim Redmon said. “I can honestly say that I would have been pleased coming out of this game whether we won or not. Obviously, it’s better with the win.

“The thing about these two teams is that you just know they’re going to play quite a few games against each other this year. If you look at the history, we could conceivably play five times.”

LC trailed by 11 points in the third quarter, storming back to hold a 52-51 lead going into the fourth.

In overtime, senior guard Lyndi Seidensticker was 4 for 4 from the free-throw line and freshman Daisy Burke drilled a big jumper with 20 seconds left to push the Tigers over the top.

“We have eight kids back from last year’s team, but we do have some new young kids that we’re working into the lineup,” Redmon said. “I thought they did an excellent job.”

LC took the lead early, holding a 17-13 lead after one quarter, but U-Hi turned hot in the final 3 minutes of the first half to take a 36-28 lead.

Senior Angie Bjorklund, last year’s state player of the year who’s headed off to play at the University of Tennessee next year, buried back-to-back 3-pointers 30 seconds apart and added a field goal with 18.2 seconds left to give the Titans a 10-point lead.

“Boy, that had me worried,” Redmon said. “When Angie went off for eight points like that, it was a little scary. She’s just such a great player – I guess that’s why she’s going to Tennessee.”

Bjorklund had 13 points in the second quarter alone. Her 3-pointer with 6:43 left in the third quarter pushed the U-Hi lead to 11.

Seidensticker brought the Tigers back, drilling the first of two 3-pointers midway through the quarter to spark a run that brought her team back into a tie, 47-47 with 2:52 left.

Katelan Redmon scored nine points in the fourth quarter to lead LC while U-Hi did most of its damage from the free-throw line.

Redmon said he was especially pleased to reverse a regular-season trend a year ago.

“Going back to last year, they got us three straight times,” he said. “I’m glad we were able to change that.

“But I think each game with them is going to be a battle. Anytime you have a player like Angie Bjorklund on the floor, it’s going to be a tough game. And I think U-Hi is trying to do some different things this year. They have a freshman playing the point and I think you’ll see Angie handle ball a little more.”

Bjorklund finish with 34 points, with Dara Zack adding another 20 to lead U-Hi.

The Tigers were led by Redmon with 23 points. Seidensticker contributed another 15.

“That’s going to be the way we play this year,” Jim Redmon said. “We’re going to stress team above all else.”

Mead 53, Rogers 45: What a difference a player makes. Denisha Whitehead, who sat out the Pirates’ (0-2) first game – a 44-point loss – scored 28 points, had six steals and three blocked shots to nearly orchestrate an upset. But the visiting Panthers (2-0) scored eight points in two minutes when Rogers switched defenses near the end of the third quarter for a 39-28 lead. Alysha Green (13 points) and Beth Altena (10) led Mead scoring.

Ferris 59, Central Valley 46: Jenna Galloway scored 11 of her game-high 17 points in the third quarter, enabling the Saxons (1-1) to get away from the visiting Bears (0-2). Teammate Amber Quann added a dozen points. CV was led by sophomore Ashley Carpenter’s 12 points and junior Justine Bowman’s 10.

East Valley 46, North Central 29: The Knights (1-0) managed to successfully negotiate a sloppy game to outlast the host Indians (0-2). EV had 25 turnovers to NC’s 36, and scored 18 unanswered first-half points to open up a 27-12 lead. The Indians managed just seven baskets, although they made 15 of 25 free-throw attempts. Nine different Knights scored, led by Kylee Williamson, who had 10 points. NC’s Alicia Kahler also scored 10.