Area roundup: Three in double figures in NIC’s victory

Simone Jordan led three players in double figures with 19 points, and North Idaho defeated Eastern Utah 78-59 Friday in a Scenic West Conference women’s basketball game at Coeur d’Alene.

Niki Scott added 14 points and Kay Hill chipped in a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Cardinals (13-4, 5-2), who held the Golden Eagles to 32 percent shooting from the field. NIC outrebounded Easten Utah 43-35.

Elisha Harris paced the Golden Eagles (8-9, 2-5) with 15 points and eight rebounds.

“Willamette built a big first-half lead and held off a late surge to defeat Whitworth 64-58 in a Northwest Conference matchup.

The Bearcats (4-12, 2-5) jumped to a 36-12 lead in the first half, but the Pirates (11-6, 5-3) battled back to tie the score with 1:27 remaining in the game on a pair of free throws by Alida Bower. Willamette regained the lead on a Keilyn Fujioka basket and converted 8 of 10 free throws down the stretch to hold on for the win.

Bower, Cassie Snyder and Natalie Orrell each scored 12 for the Pirates, and Laura Payne topped the Bearcats with 17.

Men’s basketball

The Whitworth bench sparked a 13-0 first-half run that proved to be the difference in a 79-66 Northwest Conference win over Willamette in Salem, Ore.

Pirate substitutes scored nine of the 13 points that turned an early 15-4 deficit into a 17-15 lead. Jerry Beverly hit a 3-pointer and Will Hardy scored back-to-back baskets during the run. Ryan Symes sparked an 18-2 run in the second half with three inside buckets that allowed the Pirates (16-1, 7-1) to put the game out of reach.

Kevin Hasenfus paced 10th-ranked Whitworth with 21 points and nine rebounds. Dan Nugent finished with 17 points to lead the Bearcats (6-10, 2-5).

Wrestling

Brandon Palaniuk earned a 17-1 technical fall over Shane Rhoden at 133 pounds and North Idaho College cruised to a 29-9 win over Clackamas at Portland. Travis Temple earned his second win in as many duals this season with a 9-4 decision over Brian Jacob at 125 pounds.

Track and field

Eastern Washington seniors David Paul and Carolee Guiterrez qualified for the Big Sky Conference Indoor Championships during their first meet of the season at the Jerry Martin Invitational at EWU. Paul broke his school record in the weight throw with a toss of 67 feet, 1 ½ inches. Guiterrez mark of 53-3 ¾ inches is more than 2 feet farther than the qualifying mark for the women’s BCS Championships. EWU freshman Jessica Duran won the women’s pentathlon with 3,032 points, sixth-best on the school’s all-time list.

The meet continues today at 9 a.m.

“Idaho’s Matthew Wauters won the men’s weight throw competition with an NCAA Provisional Qualifying mark of 68-¼ inch at the WSU Open Indoor in Pullman.

The meet continues today at 8:30 a.m.