Wampus Cats fall to No. 1 ranked Blue Devils in opener

NAMPA — If Clark Fork was nervous to start the 1A Division II state tournament on Thursday, it sure didn’t show, as Celeste Komanec and Jessica Driver each drained two 3-pointers in the first quarter to get Clark Fork going early.

But they were facing reigning state champion and undefeated Dietrich, which dominated the rest of the game en route to a 62-32 win over Wampus Cats in the state opener at Nampa High School.

With the game tied at 12-12 to start the second quarter, Dietrich (22-0) promptly went on a 15-0 run, breaking the game open and demonstrating why they’re the top-ranked team in the state. A three-point play by Brocklynn Thornton with a minute left accounted for all the second quarter scoring for the Wampus Cats (12-8).

“We came out in the first quarter with quick ball movement — it was fun to watch,” said Cats coach Dexter Vogel, who felt his team got complacent and started rushing their shots in the pivotal second quarter. “As Dietrich built a lead, we went back to dribbling too much.”

Brocklynn Thornton led the Cats with nine points and nine rebounds, right at her season average for both, Celeste Komanec added eight points and three steals, Dimi Kailang tallied six steals, four assists and three rebounds and Tessa Vogel six rebounds in defeat.

The Wampus Cats finished 13-54 from the field, unable to capitalize on some decent offensive looks.

Moriah Dill led the Blue Devils with 22 points, nine rebounds and four steals.

Clark Fork will face Richfield (18-7) today at Nampa in the consolation bracket. Richfield only scored six points in the second half of their loss to Mackay on Thursday, but lost by only one point in their league championship game last week against Dietrich.

Vogel thinks today’s game will be close if his team can stay more consistent.

“We can play with them, but we need to play the full game,” he said of Richfield. “We can’t have one of those quarters where we only score three points.”

Tip off is at 7 p.m., and the game will be webcast live on www.idahosports.com.

Clark Fork  12    3    6   11 — 32

Dietrich     12   17   14  19 — 62

CLARK FORK — Kiebert 4, McMahon 0, Vogel 3, Driver 6, Komanec 8, Thornton 9, Wurm 0, Van Buren 0, Kailang 2.