LC pulls out victory

Prior to the first meeting between Greater Spokane League girls basketball favorites on Friday, Lewis and Clark’s Jim Redmon expressed concern that the Tigers hadn’t shot particularly well during three earlier wins.

At Mead, they did so early and coupled with typical smothering LC defense, built a nine-point halftime lead.

Although the Tigers (4-0) were holding on by a thread at game’s end, the early boost was enough for a 52-48 escape over the young Panthers in a game befitting the two teams’ lofty preseason status.

“As young as they are and as poised as they were, it’s a credit to their coach and their team,” a relieved Redmon said afterward.

Mead started a junior, three sophomores and a freshman, while the Tigers had four seniors on the floor to begin the game.

Neither team found the shooting range early in the contest, Mead in particular despite playing at home, but then the Tigers, whose Brittany Kennedy added scorer to her resume to go along with the all-out defensive havoc that has been her trademark, got hot.

Not only did the speedy Kennedy scrap and dive to force turnovers, but she knocked down 4 of 6 shots, two of them sweet-looking 3-pointers as LC rallied from a 7-4 deficit with a little more than 2 minutes remaining in the first quarter to a 16-9 advantage early in the second period.

“What’s funny is she has something wrong with her eye, so she was blurry,” said Redmon. “We laughed and said we were going to keep it patched the rest of the year.”

The Tigers’ lead was ultimately 27-15 on a 3-pointer by Daisy Burke with 1:12 to play until intermission.

Then Mead sophomore Jazmine Redmon, who emerged as a star last year at state, got rolling.

She opened the third quarter with a three-point play that cut LC’s lead to six points.

The teams traded points in a hurry, each with 10 over a period of 2:18, including two 3-pointers each that came consecutively. Mead’s 3s were made by freshman Taylor Ingebritsen while Kennedy and Burke hit LC’s.

Redmon, no relation to LC’s coach, would add another 3-pointer later in the third quarter, the first of five times in the last 10 minutes of the game that Mead would cut LC’s lead to four points.

“I thought the difference in the first half was just our intensity and I was hoping it would carry forth,” said Redmon. “But you’re right, it was one basket after another or a mistake or another rebound or whatever in the second half. They’re a great team.”

Sophomore Alexis Olgard hit a left-handed sky hook to make it 48-44 with 1:53 remaining. Twice Redmon would score to counter a Tigers basket. But after Ingebritsen had a steal, the Panthers turned the ball back over and Emily Travis, who had two timely second-half baskets scored in transition with 40 seconds remaining to stave off the feisty hosts.

“She also had some defensive stops,” said coach Redmon. “She’s definitely matured into the player she is now and we’ll use her a lot.”

Kennedy finished the game with 17 points in addition to her typical floor play. Redmon scored 23 for the Panthers and Ingebritsen finished with 23.

Central Valley 44, North Central 39: The unbeaten Bears (4-0) survived a scare at NC to remain tied with LC atop the GSL. The teams were tied after a quarter before CV went on a 15-2 run prior to intermission. Despite 40 turnovers and 9-for-21 free-throw shooting, the Indians (1-3) rallied in the second half, outscoring the Bears 26-18 to keep the game entertaining. Nicole Graybeal finished with a dozen points. CV point guard Justine Bowman maintained her season scoring average with an 18-point effort.

Shadle Park 67, East Valley 53: The Highlanders (2-1) found themselves in a struggle with the Knights (0-3). They led by only a point at half and it took a big third quarter to put a little distance between them and their hosts. Shadle outscored EV 28-18 in the period. WSU-bound Lexie Pettersen was a catalyst, finishing with 22 points, seven rebounds and three assists. She was one of four Shadle players in double figures. Amanda Carlton added 14 points, including four 3-pointers, Lindsay Niemeier scored 13 and Sara Nichols 12. Tori Dezellem had 10 assists. EV was led by Kathy Tate who scored 18 points. Kelsi Jacobson added 13 and Janea Knopp had 11 points and eight rebounds.

Mt. Spokane 58, Rogers 32: The Wildcats (3-1) are two games shy of their win total for the entire season a year ago, but it took a 17-4 fourth-quarter scoring advantage to get away from the Pirates (0-3), debuting their new gym. Mt. Spokane used a full-court press and took advantage of turnovers to build on a 41-28 lead. Callie Bergstrom had 11 points to lead a balanced attack. Samantha Roybal, who is averaging in double figures for Rogers, scored 14 points, including three 3-pointers, and had four steals.

University 50, Ferris 31: Fourth-year varsity regular Riki Schiermeister scored 16 points and Zoe Scott added 12 as the Titans (2-2) evened their record at home. They started slowly, leading 4-2 after a quarter, the teams combining on 2-for-14 shooting, but built on that as the game went on.