Priest River suffers heartbreaking loss to Lumberjacks
Senior guard Hannah Palfrey looks to attack the paint during a game against Bonners Ferry on Jan. 19 at PRLHS.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
PRIEST RIVER — For three quarters on Tuesday night, the Priest River girls basketball team looked primed to end a five-game losing streak.
Unfortunately, the Spartans couldn't hold off the Lumberjacks down the stretch and fell 43-35 to St. Maries.
"We played really solid defense until the fourth quarter," head coach Gary Stewart said. "We got beat on a lot of back door plays to finish the game."
Stewart said his team arguably their best half of basketball all season in the first half and took a 21-16 lead into the locker room.
In the third quarter, St. Maries wiped away the Spartans' lead and the game was tied at 27-27 heading into the final quarter. The Lumberjacks scored 16 points in the final eight minutes to complete the season sweep.
In the first matchup between these two squads on Nov. 24 at St. Maries, the Lumberjacks dominated the Spartans 61-31. Priest River gave a valiant effort on Tuesday to close the gap with St. Maries, but just fell short.
Makia Fitzmorris led the Spartans with 14 points, and Hannah Palfrey and Ally Barton each tallied seven.
"Makia was attacking on offense the whole night," Stewart said. "Ally was a beast on the boards and Hannah played hard the whole night. I never gave her a breather."
On Saturday, the Spartans battled Kellogg for the second time this season. Priest River held the Wildcats without a 3-pointer, but that wasn't enough to overcome Kellogg's potent offense as they fell 54-22.
The Spartans also lost at Kellogg 53-17 on Jan. 12 and the defeat dropped Priest River to 0-5 in Intermountain League play.
"I was satisfied with our hustle and intensity," Stewart said about the rematch with Kellogg.
The Spartans hung around in the first half and trailed 28-16 after 16 minutes of action. But the Wildcats shut down Priest River in the second half and held them to just six points.
The Spartans struggled defending Kellogg's Hailey Cheney all night. The 6-foot post went off for 24 points.
Palfrey led the team with 10 points and Barton, Lilly Freitas and Samantha Pound each added four.
Priest River (3-13, 0-5 IML) hosts North Idaho Christian at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. The Spartans lost to the Royals 52-31 in the Spartan Christmas Tournament championship on Dec. 19 and came back on Jan. 4 and took down North Idaho Christian 39-33 at PRLHS.
Stewart said his team has improved as the season has gone on, but they can take another step.
"The progress we've made has been great from those three critical perspectives; basketball skills, competitive desire and mental toughness," he said. "We're not where we want or need to be, but our growth has been steady."
St. Maries 6 10 11 16 — 43
Priest River 9 12 6 8 — 35
ST. MARIES — Sines 2, Badgett 7, McGreal 4, Christensen 5, Rinel 4, Chappell 0, Spray 0, Watkins 3, Mitchell 6, Holder 5, Miller 6, Hammond 3.
PRIEST RIVER — Rantala 0, Freitas 2, Pound 3, Burgess-Duquette 0, Fitzmorris 14, Thompson 0, Palfrey 7, Kingery 0, White 0, Barton 7, Shockey 2.
Kellogg 10 18 17 9 — 54
Priest River 5 11 4 2 — 22
KELLOGG — Vanhoose 0, Jerome 2, Hanst 2, Coe 4, Hill 2, Nearing 2, H. Cheney 24, Reed 5, M. Cheney 7, Potts 4, Milliron 2.
PRIEST RIVER — Rantala 0, Freitas 4, Pound 4, Burgess-Duquette 0, Fitzmorris 0, Thompson 0, Palfrey 10, Kingery 0, White 0, Barton 4, Shockey 0.