Golder, Kirscher propel Bulldogs past Bears

SANDPOINT — With the game tied at 37-37 and less than 20 seconds on the clock, the Bulldogs put the ball in the hands of their best player, and Grace Kirscher delivered, getting fouled and sinking the winning free throw with five seconds left in a big 37-36 over Moscow on Saturday in a 4A Inland Empire League clash at Les Rogers Court.

Trinity Golder had another strong scoring night for the Bulldogs (6-9, 1-0 4A IEL), draining four 3-pointers en route to a team-high 17 points and six rebounds, while Kirscher had two of her five steals late in the game, a back and fourth affair that was tight throughout in the fourth quarter.

Gracey Meyer led the Bears (1-1 4A IEL) with 15 points, and they raced out to an early 14-6 lead before Sandpoint answered.

“I liked how resilient they were to fight from behind and tie it up. We showed a lot of poise at the end,” said Bulldogs head coach Duane Ward, lauding the outside shooting of Golder. “When she gets in that rhythm, she’s a deadly shooter. We’ve got to have that outside shooting.”

The Bulldogs were trailing by one when Taylor Ward pulled down an offensive board and was fouled, hitting one of two free throws to tie the game up. The Bulldogs stole the ensuing in-bounds possession, and put the game away.

Sandpoint is at Lewiston on Monday.

Moscow 14 8 5 8 — 37

Sandpoint 6 10 13 9 — 38

MOSCOW — Haeder 3, Rauch 1, Broyles 11, Meyer 14, Carscallen 0, Waters 0, Jung 7.

SANDPOINT — Matilla 0, Tomazich 0, Kaul 0, Ward 1, Laybourne 0, Golder 17, Hicks 6, Tucker 0, Kirscher 14.

CLARK FORK — Kaili Gentry led a balanced scoring attack with 13 points, leading the Warriors over the Wampus Cats 51-34 in North Star League action Saturday night at Clark Fork High School.

Kennedy LaFountaine added 12 points and Paxton Dotson 11 for the Warriors (3-5, 1-2 NSL), who used a 12-2 fourth quarter run to put the game away.

Sophomore Brooke Stevens led the Wampus Cats (1-10, 1-4 NSL) with 13 points and six steals, Tessa Sutton added 10 points, six boards and two blocks, and Ellie Kiebert three steals in defeat. The Cats kept the game close, but once again suffered through a lull.

“We have that one bad quarter, we aren’t putting a complete game together,” said Cats head coach Mark Stevens, admitting his team is young. “It’s been that way all year.”

Clark Fork hosts Genesis Prep on Tuesday.

Kootenai 16 9 14 12 — 51

Clark Fork 13 8 11 2 — 34

KOOTENAI — K. LaFountaine 12, Lamb 6, Green 2, M. LaFountaine 7, Dotson 10, Gentry 13.

CLARK FORK — Stevens 13, Crumpton 3, A. Sutton 1, Young 1, Simko 2, Kiebert 4, T. Sutton 10.