Bonners Ferry, PR in title game

Jamie Pancho returned to coach the Priest River High girls basketball team this season after a year at West Valley, and he’s picked up right where he left off.

Pancho’s Spartans find themselves in a familiar place – a district championship game – after No. 3 seed Priest River slipped past second-seeded Kellogg 51-45 in overtime in a 3A District I tournament opener Monday before a crowd estimated at 900 at Timberlake High School.

Intermountain League champ and top-seeded Bonners Ferry pulled away from No. 4 St. Maries 65-48 to set up a rematch of last year’s title game.

Bonners Ferry (15-5) and Priest River (12-9) tangle Wednesday at 7:45 p.m. when the tourney resumes at Timberlake. In a loser-out opener, Kellogg (11-10) faces St. Maries (8-12) at 6.

The district champ advances to state, which will be held Feb. 16-18. The runner-up, which will be decided Thursday, also can earn a state berth in a play-in game Saturday.

Priest River 51, Kellogg 45 (OT): Defense and rebounding proved the difference.

The Spartans’ full- and half-court defense caused Priest River to commit 25 turnovers – four in the 4-minute overtime.

“You’ve got to take your hat off to Jamie. His kids played some great defense,” Kellogg coach Steve Bourgard said. “Some of (the turnovers) were self-inflicted. But they just put pressure on us all night long. They compensated for their lack of size with quickness.”

The game probably shouldn’t have gone to overtime, but Kellogg sophomore Marisa Bush hit a 3 with 20 seconds left.

“We collapsed too far (on defense) and they made a big shot,” Pancho said. “We left their best shooter open. It was a great shot.”

Priest River made 6 of 10 foul shots to secure the win in OT.

Although the Spartans don’t start a player taller than 6 foot, they managed to grab 23 offensive rebounds. Lacy Hopkins had a team-high nine.

Tabitha Clark had a game-high 24 points, but many Spartans rushed a number of shots.

“We had some good looks, but it looked like we were trying to force the ball for most of the game,” Pancho said. “I thought we took a lot of shots out of rhythm.”

Bonners Ferry 65, St. Maries 48: Several times the Badgers were on the verge of burying the Lumberjacks. And each time, the young Lumberjacks fought back before running out of gas midway in the fourth.

“They did a good job of not giving up and keeping the pressure on just enough,” Bonners Ferry coach Travis Hinthorn said of the Lumberjacks. “Every time we tried to pull away they came back. They just wouldn’t go far enough away.”

The Badgers’ balance was too much for St. Maries. Sophomore Camille Robertson scored a team-high 17 points.

The Lumberjackswere led by junior Mallory Lehman’s 14.

All-league team: Lowther was named the league’s most valuable player by the coaches.

She’s joined on the first team by teammates Poston and Jennifer Youngwirth. Also named to the team were: Bush and Stephanie Cantrall, Kellogg; Lehman and Sam Siron, St. Maries; Hopkins and Clark, Priest River; and Lynsie Powers, Timberlake.

In other girls action:

Rayna Allen had a game-high 14 points as Clark Fork (7-12) routed Mullan 46-10 in a loser-out match at the 1A District I tournament at Lakeland High School. Fawn Story led Mullan (1-18) with six points. Clark Fork faces No. 2 seed Kootenai tonight at 7:30. … Rian Miller had nine points and 13 rebounds, and Wynonna Johnson finished with 14 points as Lakeside (10-11) held off Post Falls Christian 49-25 in a loser-out match. Johnson added seven steals and three assists. Katie Hoye had 14 points to lead PFC (5-13). Lakeside meets No. 1 seed Wallace tonight at 6.

Boys

North Star League

David Baker had a game-high 22 points, and Josiah Menzies added 17 as Coeur d’Alene Charter (8-9, 4-5) cruised past Lakeside 51-28 at Coeur d’Alene. Jeremiah Brunelle had eight points to lead the Knights (1-14, 1-8). … Max Munson and John Hutchins each had double-doubles as Post Falls Christian (15-0, 10-0) routed Wallace 64-24 at Wallace. Munson and Hutchins each had 10 points and 10 rebounds. Nick Arthun led Wallace (6-12, 3-7) with 8.