Tigers find their stride

Greater Spokane League girls basketball teams, beware. Defending champ Lewis and Clark could be finding its stride.

The Tigers pulled away from Central Valley 64-49 in league play Saturday afternoon – about 20 hours after they put an 80-50 thumping on Mead.

That gives LC a sweep over the two teams most thought would challenge for a league championship.

“It’s just the first half of league,” LC coach Jim Redmon cautioned. “Gonzaga Prep is playing well and so are Ferris and Shadle Park. It’s an incredible league. Every night you step on the floor you’ve got to be ready to play.”

It was LC’s fifth straight win after a season-opening loss (53-41) at home to Coeur d’Alene.

The Tigers improved to 3-0 in league.

For three quarters, the game lived up to what many expected – a tightly contested matchup. But the Tigers picked up the intensity on defense and attacked inside with a purpose, and Central Valley (4-2, 2-1) didn’t have an answer.

“A couple of (missed layins), a couple of (missed) free throws and we just didn’t get the defensive stops,” CV coach Freddie Rehkow said. “And having Loree (Hill) on the bench kind of hurt us a bit.”

The 6-foot-2 Hill picked up her fourth foul with 3:36 to go in the third quarter and Rehkow had to take her out. He wanted to go as deep as possible into the fourth before inserting her, but when the Tigers started having their way inside Rehkow had no choice but to put Hill in the game.

And 27 seconds later, Hill fouled out when she fouled Proctor Faith, who completed a three-point play that extended LC’s lead to 48-42 with 5:58 remaining.

“They started to control the boards and I tried to get big by putting (Hill) back in,” Rehkow said.

Before one could say runaway, LC used a 19-5 run to open a 64-47 lead.

Hayley Hendricksen led LC with 16 points and eight rebounds. Teammates Devyn Galland and Mary Blevins added 11 points apiece.

“For three quarters we gave them everything they wanted,” Rehkow said. “Their experience took over. We’ll just not dwell on this and move on.”

Redmon thinks both teams will get a lot out of the game.

“To me it was playoff atmosphere,” Redmon said. “We’ve got a size advantage and we got it inside a little. We pride ourselves on defense. But (CV), they’re special. They can put five scorers on the floor at any time. For an early-season game, I told the kids they gutted it out.”

Mead 57, Gonzaga Prep 38: The Panthers (3-3, 1-2) handed the Bullpups (4-1, 2-1) their first loss behind a big fourth quarter.

The Panthers outscored G-Prep 17-5 to build the 19-point final margin.

Guard Jazmine Redmon led Mead with 17 points, 12 rebounds and six assists. Teammate Taylor Ingebritsen chipped in 17 points and seven rebounds.

Tia Presley and Lindsay Stockton led G-Prep with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Shadle Park 58, North Central 35: The Highlanders (5-2, 3-0) kept pace with LC in an easy win over the visiting Indians (4-4, 2-1).

The Highlanders used a 17-4 spurt in the fourth quarter to blow it open. Aleisha Hathaway and Jenna Humphrey led SP with 14 and 12 points, respectively. Hathaway also had eight rebounds and seven steals, while Kendra Knutsen had five assists and four steals.

University 44, Ferris 37: The Titans (3-3, 1-2) outscored the Saxons (1-6, 0-3) 18-11 in the first quarter and that margin held up in a game marred by ugly shooting.

U-Hi shot 24 percent from the field, 3 percent better than Ferris. Zoe Scott led the Titans with 14 points, five coming in the first quarter. Ashley Moon had a game-high nine rebounds for U-Hi. Haley Sieverding led Ferris with 12 points.

Mt. Spokane 52, Rogers 19: Sammie Pedersen led the visiting Wildcats (1-5, 1-1) past the Pirates (0-7, 0-2).

The Wildcats outscored Rogers 18-4 in the fourth quarter, taking advantage of 10 turnovers.