Vikings roll past Sandpoint

COEUR d'ALENE — Kama Griffitts and Amy Warbrick scored 15 points each and the No. 1 Coeur d'Alene Vikings rolled past Sandpoint in Inland Empire League play.

Griffitts led the Vikings (9-0, 5-0) with six assists, Dayna Drager added 11 points and five steals and Natalie Stewart had six points and four rebounds.

"We just had a lousy night playing defense," Coeur d'Alene coach Dale Poffenroth said. "We decided after the first quarter to start playing some D. It just seems like there's a huge difference in levels (5A vs. 4A).

"It was typical Kama — pretty good when the girl who ties for the most points also has the most assists as well."

Jennifer Thomas led Sandpoint (3-6, 1-2) with seven points.

Sandpoint's next game is at the Cheney tournament on Dec. 29.

Sandpoint 13 0 11 6 — 30

Coeur d'Alene 20 24 16 10—70

SANDPOINT — Oakley 5, Johnson 2, Fuqua 2, Windju 2, Guercio 2, Tentuo 2, James 4, DiBenedetto 4, Thomas 7.

COEUR d'ALENE — Stewart 6, Drager 11, Griffitts 15, Simon 3, Johnson 2, Warbrick 15, Rosenthal 8, Heleker 9, Buttrey 0, Bybee 1.

? Crossingham sizzles in loss to Pendleton (late)

PENDLETON, Ore. — Alex Crossingham exploded for a season-high 27 points to lead Sandpoint, but a cold-shooting fourth quarter was the difference as the Bulldogs lost 74-65 to Pendleton Saturday at the Pendleton tournament.

Crossingham drilled eight of Sandpoint's season-high 11 three-pointers, sinking four each in the first and third quarters as the Bulldogs (2-3) handled a 1-3-1 halfcourt trap to perfection. Crossingham got most of his open looks by running the baseline and finding openings in the corners.

"They were trying to trap us up high and we got Spencer (Swerin) posted high in the middle," said Sandpoint coach Lance Bruce. "He had his options and Alex was hot."

Sandpoint used some streaky scoring bursts to build a six point lead early in the fourth quarter, before running cold and being outscored by 10 points in the fourth quarter.

"We went on a 24-8 run to take a lead into the fourth quarter," said Sandpoint coach Lance Bruce. "Then we missed four lay-ins and let them right back in it. We were forced to foul them at the end."

Tanner French had seven points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the loss, Ryan Armbruster added six points and seven assists, and Spencer Swerin and Kyle Gibson each added nine as Sandpoint posted a whopping 21 team assists.

Sandpoint was playing at Coeur d'Alene Monday night at press time.

Sandpoint 17 21 19 8 — 65

Pendleton 21 19 16 18 — 74

SANDPOINT — Gibson 9, Armbruster 6, Duarte 2, Olin 5, French 7, Crossingham 27, Swerin 9.