Mitchell sparks Idaho win
Leilani Mitchell scored 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting Thursday as Idaho’s women’s basketball team held off New Mexico State 59-50 in Las Cruces, N.M., in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
Mitchell, from Kennewick, also went 9 of 10 from the foul line and added seven steals as Idaho (5-7) held the Lobos (3-9) to 36 percent shooting on the night.
Emily Faurholt, also from Kennewick, added 14 points and seven rebounds for the Vandals – who shot 45 percent from the field – and Jessica Summers had eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
New Mexico was led by the 14 points of Irma Kmitaite. Jenean Ford added 12 points and Sherell Neal had a team-high 10 rebounds.
Men’s soccer
North Idaho College captain Garga Caserta has been named National Junior College Athletic Association Division I All-American honorable mention, the school announced.
Caserta, a sophomore from Brazil, is the first Cardinals player selected to the team. Caserta had 18 goals and seven assists as NIC (12-2-3) won its first Scenic West Athletic Conference championship.
Whitworth basketball
By the most visible measure – wins and losses – the Whitworth men had a successful non-conference season. The Pirates, who split two December Northwest Conference games in Oregon, were 6-3 in their non-conference contests, with only one of the nine in Spokane.
But Whitworth will return to NWC play tonight saddled with a two-game losing streak. The Pirates host Willamette University (6-4, 2-0) in the Whitworth Fieldhouse at 8 p.m. before Lewis and Clark College (4-6, 0-2) visits Saturday at 6 p.m.
The Whitworth women (6-4 overall, 0-2 in NWC play), face the same teams and are riding a three-game winning streak. Tonight’s game begins at 6, with Saturday’s starting at 4, thanks to an NWC decision to move up starting times for the Pirates and Whitman games two hours to ease travel demands.
Football
The Spokane Shock have added wide receiver/linebacker Chris Stallworth and offensive/defensive lineman Neil Purvis to their arenafootball2 roster.
Stallworth, 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, has played for the Everett Hawks and Billings Mavericks of the National Indoor Football League.
Purvis, 6-3 and 270, was a four-year starter and three-time captain at Virginia State University (Petersburg, Va.). He had 65 tackles and seven sacks as a senior.
Golf
Deer Park Golf Club is open for play and will remain open, depending on the weather.
Call 276-5912 for any periodic frost delays.