GSL Girls: Shadle tops G-Prep for two-game lead

Lexie Pettersen and Lexi Bishop combined for 41 points as Shadle Park defeated Gonzaga Prep 56-47 in Greater Spokane League girls basketball Tuesday.

Pettersen finished with a game-high 24 points and Bishop scored 14 of her 17 in the second half as the Highlanders (11-4) took command of the game in the third quarter, after leading by just a basket at intermission.

The two teams were vying for fourth place in league behind Lewis and Clark (15-0), idle University (13-2) and Mead (13-3).

But the Highlanders, fueled by Bishop, continue to enjoy their best season in over a decade as they outscored Gonzaga 32-24 in the second half.

Bishop now has moved into fifth place among GSL career scorers with 953 points, moving her within 25 of second place, behind Angie Bjorklund. She also has surpassed 1,000 points overall, 13th best all-time despite having played in just two postseason contests in her career.

Pettersen scored 11 field goals inside and Lindsey Niemeier had three 3-pointers.

Gonzaga Prep was led by Elise Kuhar-Pitters and Tara Cronin who combined for 22 points. Cronin had 10 rebounds, four steals and four assists.

Shadle Park has games remaining against the GSL’s top three teams. The Bullpups have games remaining against both Mead and LC.

The Highlanders and Gonzaga are likely to face each other in the first round of the District 8 playoffs, when the tournament begins in mid-February.

Rogers 35, North Central 26: A stout zone defense by the Pirates (4-12) stymied the visiting Indians (0-14). And they had just enough offense for victory, taking an 11-3 lead early in the second quarter and going from there. Melanie Humphries had 10 rebounds and seven points for the victors and Rogers scoring leader Denisha Whitehead had 10 points and had seven steals.

Lewis and Clark 72, Ferris 39: The Tigers roared in transition during the first quarter to outscore the Saxons (7-8) at Ferris 28-7. From there it was simply a matter of matching the Saxons point-for-point. LC senior Katelan Redmon scored 18 points to join the top 10 career GSL girls list with 826. Lyndi Seidensticker added 13 for LC as a total of 10 different Tigers scored in the game. Ferris’ Jenna Galloway scored 10 points to lead the Saxons and Ashley Lockmer added nine.

Mead 60, Central Valley 39: The host Panthers put the game away over the Bears (4-12) with a 23-12 third-quarter scoring advantage after leading just 22-16 at intermission. “We just came out and played well and handled the ball better,” said Mead coach Regan Drew. Eight Panthers scored, led by Kami Clark’s 17. Kelli Valentine had 10 points and eight rebounds, Alysha Green added five assists and Jazmine Redmon had eight steals as Mead forced 21 turnovers. Season-long Central Valley scoring leader Justine Bowman finished with 13 points.