Sandpoint overcomes 11-point deficit, beats IEL rival Lakeland
(Photo by KYLE CAJERO) Sandpoint junior guard Kaylee Banks backs down Lakeland junior Mel Loutzenhiser during Sandpoint’s 38-34 win on Tuesday night.
(Photo by KYLE CAJERO) Sandpoint junior guard Dawson Driggs (left) celebrates with her teammates after Sandpoint's 38-34 win over Lakeland.
SANDPOINT — Sandpoint only managed two points in the first quarter and trailed by as many as 11 in the third, yet held Lakeland without a field goal over the final 9:32 en route to a 38-34 IEL win.
“At halftime, I told our girls about playing in the moment, not being scared and to try to make plays,” Love said. “They started to respond to that after a couple timeouts. We also made a couple offensive adjustments, and once they started hitting those shots, you could see them really start to believe.”
Despite nearly getting shut out of the first quarter — a pair of Dawson Driggs free throws with two seconds got the Bulldogs on the board — the Bulldogs fought back against Lakeland’s 2-3 zone. The Hawks dominated the glass in the first half: Ryan and senior Taylor Elpers combined for 11 first-half rebounds, most of which came on offense. Lakeland racked up second-chance points against a smaller Sandpoint team and looked poised to run away with the game.
“We weren’t able to limit them to one shot in the first half,” Love said. “But in the second half you could see that we really committed to that.”
However, the three-point shot opened up for the Bulldogs in the second quarter, as Maddie Morgan and Driggs hit three triples to cut Lakeland’s lead.
The Hawks’ lead oscillated from nine to four points in the second, then jumped to 11 early in the third quarter.
But Sandpoint started its comeback on defense.
Sandpoint kicked off the second half in a full-court press, spurred mostly by defense from Kaylee Banks and Izzo Edwards. The duo, alongside sophomore Hattie Larson, helped force five fourth-quarter turnovers
“Kaylee and Izzo were relay the spearhead behind our pressure,”Sandpoint head coach Will Love said. “We were able to get [Lakeland’s] shooters out, move them from starting their offense around the three-point line and then Natalie Petit’s defense on Katy Ryan stalled their offense.”
The fourth quarter was all Sandpoint, as the Bulldogs drew contact and chipped away at Lakeland’s lead from the line. A three from Maddie Morgan at the 4:01 mark gave the Bulldogs its first lead of the night.
Three free throws from Ryan and Elpers gave Lakeland the lead momentarily, but a free throw from Driggs and another Morgan three gave Sandpoint the lead for good.
Despite the win, Lakeland owns the tiebreaker over Sandpoint due to point differential from the teams’ first meeting. Lakeland beat Sandpoint 49-35 at home on Jan. 18.
Love said he and his team didn’t dwell on tiebreakers afterwards. Instead, Sandpoint’s focus was on the game against Moscow on Thursday.
A win over the Bears will split the IEL title, while a loss will give Lakeland its first outright title since the Hawks won the 3A IML in 2003.
“We’re still looking to go 3-1 with Lakeland and share the league title,” Love said. “With us having to play that game on Monday, [I knew] we’ve gotta do it. [The tournament] was going to be a challenge either way.”
Driggs led the Bulldogs with 14 points, and six boards, while Maddie Morgan finished with 11.
Lakeland sophomore Katy Ryan finished with a game-high 15 points and 10 rebounds. Alaina Pruitt contributed four points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Sandpoint (5-13, 2-1 IEL) finishes off league play at Moscow on Thursday.
Lakeland (8-10, 3-1 IEL) will play the winner between Sandpoint and Moscow on Feb. 5 at North Idaho College.
Lakeland 9 15 7 3 — 34
Sandpoint 2 13 11 12 — 38
LAKELAND — Cooper 5, Elpers 3, Loutzenhiser 7, Kirk 0, Ryan 15, Boyer 0, Kime 0, Pruitt 4, Neff 0, McDevitt 0.
SANDPOINT — Driggs 14, Morgan 11, Banks 4, Larson 6, Petit 0, Edwards 3, Phillips 0, Steiger 0, Lish 0.