Bonners beats Priest River, stays alive

The last thing Bonners Ferry wanted was a repeat of last year, winning the Intermountain League title and failing to make it out of districts.

Wednesday at North Idaho College, the Badgers put those demons to rest with a 44-40 victory over Priest River in the runner-up game of the 3A District I tournament.

The win sends Bonners (15-8) to a Saturday play-in game in at Grangeville High against the runner-up from the Boise area’s District III.

As with seemingly every IML postseason, nothing came easy and Bonners, after a tough loss Tuesday to Kellogg, had to stave off a pair of fourth-quarter runs by the never-say-die Spartans.

Badgers senior Kaitie Poston, who matched Priest River’s Tabitha Clark with a game-high 18 points, said the tight game in the late-going brought out the best in her team.

Bonners led 32-24 after three quarters, but at the beginning of the fourth quarter the Spartans went on a 9-0 run that started with 3-pointers by Clark and senior Lacy Hopkins and ended with Hopkins steal and runout that gave Priest River its first lead since 3-2 in the first quarter.

Senior Becky Lowther put the Badgers back on top with a floater from 10 feet and Bonners would again stretch the lead to 41-33 with 2:45 remaining on Poston’s three-point play.

The lead held until Clark got a steal at half court and converted with just more than a minute left.

After another quick steal, Hopkins drilled a 3-pointer to cut it to 43-40 with 25 seconds left.

Priest River, which finishes the season 15-8, had a golden opportunity when Poston threw away the ensuing inbounds, but Clark was unable to convert in traffic and the Spartans were forced to foul.

Bonners’ Samantha Hiatt missed both free throws, but Poston came up big for the final time, stealing the ball in Priest River’s end, essentially ending the game.

“Up (that much), I was starting to feel pretty good,” Bonners coach Travis Hinthorn said. “But with their speed, we didn’t come to the ball and they did – they went full speed and they never went away.”

“I’m just so proud of my girls, the way they fought back,” first-year Spartans coach Gary Stewart said. “My two seniors carried us tonight.”