Bulldogs' offense doesn't make the trip to Timberlake

SPIRIT LAKE — Timberlake held Sandpoint to one field goal in the first quarter, which set the tone in a 39-23 non-league win.

“Offensively, we had our opportunities,” Sandpoint head coach Will Love said. “We had a lot of great looks but none of them would fall for us in the second half. I felt bad for the girls because they had such a great effort on the defensive end.”

Sandpoint’s defense was able to get things together in the second half, as the Bulldogs held the Tigers to merely nine points, but the offense wasn’t clicking. To the chagrin of the Tigers, the offense wasn’t clicking for them either. Both teams scored 16 points combined in the second half.

“The third and the fourth quarters were not exactly for people who like to watch a lot of offense,” Love said.

Although Brooke Jessen went down with a knee injury late in the second quarter, Timberlake’s roster stepped up as a unit; their efforts helped moved them to 10-1 on the season.

“We had a really solid first quarter on both ends of the court,” said Timberlake coach Matt Miller, whose team led 16-2 after the first quarter. “We got some points in transition and looked really solid. The defense on both sides got a lot better in the second half, but we found a way to hang on.”

Despite having her night cut short, Jessen led all scorers with her 13 first-half points. As for Sandpoint, the Bulldogs’ usual leading scorers Maddie Morgan, Dawson Driggs and Hattie Larson were held to only 21 points as a unit — well off their usual marks of 12, 12 and 7 points per game, respectively.

Dawson Driggs and Hattie Larson led the Bulldogs with nine points, while Larson and Aly Lish led with five rebounds.

Sandpoint (2-7) will play three games at the Eagle Classic on Dec. 28 and 29.

Timberlake (10-1) will play St. George’s in the West Valley Tournament held in Spokane. Day one of the tournament is scheduled for Dec. 28.

Sandpoint 2 14 2 5 — 23

Timberlake 16 14 4 5 — 39

TIMBERLAKE — Lish 2, Edwards 0, Morgan 3, Driggs 9, Larson 9, Phillips 0, Anderson 0, Banks 0, Petit 0.

SANDPOINT — Tonkin 12, Soumas 12, Suko 0, Hammond 0, Kronenberg 0, Carhart 0, Jessen 13, Jeffs 2, Wills 0.