Bulldogs extend season by drubbing Hawks
SANDPOINT — Flashing some of the stingiest defense of the season, the Sandpoint girls held Lakeland to just five second half points in a 46-23 win during a loser-out game Tuesday night at the 4A Region 1 tournament at Les Rogers Court.
Hailey Olin, who just recently switched to point guard, dropped in 15 points and nabbed three steals to lead the No. 2 seed Bulldogs (14-9), who shot a tidy 17-34 from the field and 9-10 from the line.
Jordan Speelmon, the lone senior who was moved to shooting guard, finished with six points, six steals and three assists, and provided an early spark with some hustle plays. Many of the Bulldogs’ 14 team steals led to run outs and easy transition baskets.
“We were able to use all 10 players and keep that level of defensive intensity,” said Bulldogs head coach Bill Bender, whose team must now beat Moscow twice to get to state. “That depth was real important.”
The No. 3 seed Hawks (3-18) started strong, building an early first quarter lead, but seemed to run out of gas as the Bulldogs’ defensive pressure forced a lot of turnovers. Josie Coder scored nine points and was a perfect 5-5 from the free throw like and Emily Vanderhoof scored four points to go with three steals, but the Hawks only made 7-30 field goal attempts as their season came to an end.
“I told coach Bender I thought his kids were outstanding in the second half. Unfortunately, the better team won tonight,” said Hawks head coach Steve Seymour. “Sandpoint’s effort and execution were much better than ours.”
Olin really controlled the tempo offensively as the Bulldogs finished 17-34 from the field and 9-10 from the line. The Bulldogs now turn their attention to the third meeting of the season against the No. 1 seed Bears on Thursday night at the Bear Den.
The two 4A North rivals have played even all season, and if the Bulldogs can win on Thursday, they steal the home court edge and would host the Bears on Friday night with a state berth on the line.
“We’ll need to control the boards like we did tonight and make the right decisions in transition,” said Bender of the key to beating Moscow. “If we do those two things, we’ll be all right.”
Tip off on Thursday is 7 p.m., with AM 1400 carrying the game live.
Lakeland 11 7 2 3 — 23
Sandpoint 12 15 10 9 — 46
LAKELAND — Vanderhoof 4, St. Mark 0, Pote 0, Ward 2, Coder 9, Derby 2, Kelsey 5, Ramus 1.
SANDPOINT — Schoening 5, Corless 6, Liband 2, Young 4, Alamillo 7, Speelmon 6, Williams 0, Martin 0, Olin 15, Delgado 0, Couch 1, Chatburn 0, Mares 0, Bluemer 0.