Scoring drought hurt Bulldogs

MEDICAL LAKE, Wash. — A scoring drought in the second and third quarters doomed the Sandpoint girls as they fell 49-37 to Medical Lake in non-league action Friday night.

In those quarters, the Bulldogs (1-5) shot a combined 3-26 in field goal attempts, and managed only seven points as they dug a 20 point deficit.

"Unbelievably cold," was how coach Jim Alsager described their shooting. "We got some good looks, they just kept going in and out."

Not all was bad for the Bulldogs, who would eventually find a rhythm in the fourth quarter, exploding for 21 points to make the score a little closer against what Alsager called evenly matched teams.

Brittany Oakley had 10 points, three assists and two steals, and back court mate Kim Guercio added 10 points to lead the Bulldogs. Krista McNeal added seven, and freshman Koko James scored four in her first varsity minutes.

"The ball started rolling for us in the fourth," said Alsager. "They hung in there and played to the end. If they hadn't, Medical Lake would have blown us out."

It was the first time all year that Sandpoint had to deal with a 30-second shot clock, which the Washington schools employ, but Alsager said it had no bearing on the outcome.

Sandpoint hosts Lewiston on Tuesday in Inland Empire League action.

Sandpoint — 9 3 4 21 — 37

Med Lake — 14 13 8 14 — 49

SANDPOINT — Oakley 10, Johnson 2, Windju 2, Guercio 10, McNeal 7, Tenuto 2, James 4.