Lake City takes it to Vikings

Lake City girls basketball coach Darren Taylor is a faithful follower of his horoscope – he reads it every morning to help jump-start his day. A Scorpio, Taylor saw something as he cracked open Friday morning’s paper that he took as an omen. And a good one at that.

“It said something like, ‘You will come out on top today if you have a physical effort,’ ” Taylor said.

He’s even a stronger believer now as his Timberwolves came out with what he termed their best effort of the year in handing crosstown rival Coeur d’Alene a 46-30 defeat in Inland Empire League action at CdA’s Elmer Jordan Court.

Lake City (7-7 overall, 4-3 IEL) broke open a tight and physical contest early in the third quarter. Clinging to a 21-18 lead at halftime, the T-Wolves, behind five points by junior guard Richelle Fenenbock, opened the quarter with a 7-2 run, giving them a 28-20 lead.

The Viks (10-4, 6-2) crept back to within five after three Jenna DeLong free throws, but a key 3-pointer by junior Caitlin Crimp extended Lake City’s lead to 31-23. CdA would not get closer than nine points the rest of the way, mainly because of a 3-of-17 effort from the floor in the final period.

“We played really hard all 32 minutes tonight,” Taylor said. “I just wish I could bottle that emotion. We were very physical and put forth our best effort of the season.”

It didn’t look like it would be a 16-point game early. Lake City grabbed an early 11-4 lead. Junior Brittany Bemis and sophomore Emma Hawn each connected on 3-pointers to get Lake City rolling.

The Viks fought back. Despite shooting just under 23 percent (5 of 22) from the field in the first half, CdA pulled to within one at 16-15 with 3:14 left in the second quarter on a free throw by freshman Kama Griffitts.

But moments later, Bemis connected on her second 3-pointer of the half and LC, despite eight second-quarter turnovers, went into the locker room with a three-point halftime lead.

Taylor credited Hawn with an emotional lift to start the game, but was even more impressed with her defense. As she did in last month’s five point win over the Viks, Hawn put pressure on CdA’s guards and made it difficult for the Viks to get their offense on track. Taylor pointed out that all three Lake City league losses came with Hawn either ill or hobbling from minor injuries.

“When Emma’s healthy, we’re a different team,” Taylor said.

“I just get my palms up and move my feet,” Hawn said. “We came out as hard as we could and got the lead early. Whenever we come out hard, we always play better.”

The Viks benefited from Lake City’s physical play by going to the free-throw line 23 times. But they only connected on 11 of those attempts. Toss in a 9-of-44 effort from the field, and it’s no wonder CdA struggled offensively.

“Darren’s kids played hard tonight,” CdA coach Dale Poffenroth said. “They outplayed us and should be complimented. There’s usually a reason you don’t shoot well.

“Whatever they had for breakfast, they did a wonderful job.”

Lake City’s freshman post, Katy Baker led a balanced T-Wolves attack with 11 points. Bemis finished with 10 and Hawn and Fenenbock, who had been fighting an illness this week, each had nine.

“We just want to prove that we’re serious,” Baker said. “We played awesome defense tonight. We put pressure on them and just got in their faces.”

DeLong led CdA with 10 points despite dealing with foul trouble. She spent much of the second half on the bench after picking up her fourth foul with 2:16 to go in the third quarter. Freshman Amy Warbick added eight for the Viks.

And while Lake City has had CdA’s number in the first two meetings, Taylor and his T-Wolves know it’s too early to boast. The two teams could possibly meet four more times this season, including postseason games.

“That’s only round two,” Taylor said. “It may turn out to be a six-round heavyweight fight.”

•In other IEL action, Natalie Nichols had 14 points and five steals to lead Lakeland to a 49-42 victory over host Lewiston. Kayla Steigemeier added 11 points, and Brigitte Boucher had eight points and eight rebounds for the Hawks (12-3, 4-3). Kiki Edwards-Teasley led the way for the Bengals (6-8, 2-6) with 15 points.

•Bailey Hewitt had 14 points, four assists and three steals as Clark Fork cruised to a 44-24 victory over visiting Lakeside (Plummer) in North Star League play. Rashell Trunnell had nine points and eight rebounds, and Jolene Meredith added 10 rebounds for the Wampus Cats (2-8, 2-2). Wynonna Johnson scored 10 points to lead the Knights (5-7, 1-3). … Hanna Nyrop scored 23 points and swiped six steals as Kootenai routed Post Falls Christian 60-23 in Harrison. Cassie Scheffelmaier added 15 points, six assists and four steals for the Warriors (10-3, 4-0), who outscored the Eagles 17-1 in the first quarter and led 51-14 after three. Emily Bishop scored eight points to lead the Eagles (4-8, 1-4).

•Lacy Hopkins scored 16 points and Priest River shot 52 percent from the floor to defeat host Post Falls 52-46 in a non-league game. Tabitha Clark added 11 for the Spartans (6-7), who shot 10 of 12 from the free-throw line, while the Trojans (6-6) shot just 6 of 18. Heather Arnone led PF with 15 points. … Steph Cantrell scored 18 points and Amanda Seeling added 14 as Kellogg (8-7) routed visiting Wallace 52-20. Cara Hayman scored eight to lead the Miners (10-1), who were outscored 27-9 in the second half.