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PREP ROUNDUP: Sandpoint girls clinch regular season IEL title with win over Lewiston

by MAX OSWALD
Sports Reporter | February 4, 2025 9:45 PM

GIRLS BASKETBALL

Sandpoint 56, Lewiston 43

SANDPOINT — When the Lady Bulldogs needed a scorer, Jordyn Tomco took over.

The Sandpoint High sophomore poured in a game-high 22 points, 14 in the second half, and hit three 3-pointers and the Lady Bulldogs were named 5A Inland Empire League regular season champions with a 13-point win over the Lady Bengals on Tuesday night.

The win, which marks four in a row for the Lady Bulldogs, came on a day where Sandpoint honored their four seniors — Chloe Laybourne, Demi Driggs, Aubrey Knowles, and manager Mallory Pierce. It was also Sandpoint Future night, where aspiring youngsters found themselves inspired by a solid Lady Bulldog performance... a performance that included a 7-0 run to start the game and a 21-8 run to close it.

"We were struggling both on the offensive and defensive ends for most of the second and third quarters, but we were able to hit some key shots early in the fourth to get us going again," Sandpoint High head coach Will Love said. "The girls did a good job of pushing the tempo and put Lewiston on their heels, making it harder for them to get into their defense. When we got out in transition, especially in that fourth... it allowed us to execute our gameplan better."

Driggs had seven points on the night while Laybourne chipped in five points and two steals.

Sophomore Brecken Mire rounded out the all-around team performance with 12 points and a game-high eight assists, one of which happened to be her 100th of the season — a fourth quarter dish to Knowles, who saw her first action of the season after tearing her ACL at a summer practice, for a corner 3-pointer that all but sealed the deal.

"I'm super excited for these girls and their belief throughout the season," coach Love said. "We had some struggles but the girls kept working hard and understood there were games we had to win, especially the last few games, in order to have an opportunity (to win the regular season title). They went out and grabbed what was available and I'm super excited for all of them, especially our seniors."

No. 1 Sandpoint (11-10, 6-3) hosts No. 4 Lewiston again on Friday at 6 p.m. for a 5A IEL district tournament loser-out game. The winner will move on to face either No. 2 Lakeland or No. 3 Moscow in a best-of-three series.

Lewiston 8 14 13 8 — 43

Sandpoint 16 12 9 19 — 56

PTS: SPT — Tomco 22, Mire 12, D. Driggs 7, Ch. Laybourne 5, Knowles 3, L. Driggs 3, Thaete 2, Ca. Laybourne 2. LEW —A. McKarcher 9, Albright 9, Balmer 7, Vantrease 6, Lathen 4, Holman 3, E. McKarcher 3, Stanger 2.

REB: SPT — Mire 4, D, Driggs 4, Ch. Laybourne 3, L. Driggs 2, Tomco 1, M. Driggs 1, Knowles 1. LEW — A. McKarcher 9, Albright 5, E. McKarcher 5, Samuels 4, Holman 4, Lathen 1.

AST: SPT — Mire 8, L. Driggs 2, Tomco 1, M. Driggs 1, Knowles 1, M. Driggs 1. LEW — Lathen 3, Albright 1, Vantrease 1, A. McKarcher 1.

STL: SPT — Ch. Laybourne 2, Knowles 1, L. Driggs 1, D. Driggs 1. LEW — Vantrease 3, A. McKarcher 2, Balmer 1.

BLK: SPT — D. Driggs 1, Tomco 1. LEW — Balmer 1, A. McKarcher 1.

Lakeside 72, Clark Fork 23

PLUMMER — Senior Hannah Thompson scored 19 of the visiting Lady Cats' 23 points in a 2A Scenic Idaho Conference district tournament loss to the Lady Knights on Tuesday.

Freshman Keira Gannon and junior Priscilla Mayorga had two points each while junior Kathi Rupp pulled down 10 rebounds for No. 4 Clark Fork, which trailed 37-9 at intermission.

Junior Kyleigh Wolfe had a game-high 40 points, 22 in the first half, for No. 1 Lakeside.

Clark Fork (5-13) will travel to the loser of No. 2 Genesis Prep/No. 3 Wallace on Thursday for a loser-out matchup.

Clark Fork 5 4 8 6 — 23

Lakeside 21 16 23 12 — 72

PTS: CF — Thompson 19, Mayorga 2, Gannon 2. LAK — Wolfe 40, Charley 13, Pluff 6, Gorr 5, Peone 3, Lambert 3, Matheson 2.

Timberlake 62, Bonners Ferry 24

BONNERS FERRY — The host Lady Badgers were defeated by the Lady Tigers in their regular season finale on Tuesday.

No other information was available.

No. 2 Bonners Ferry (12-8, 0-2) will travel to No. 1 Timberlake on Monday for their first game of the 4A Intermountain League district tournament, which is a best-of-three series between the two teams.

BOYS BASKETBALL

Clark Fork 49, Priest River JV 43

CLARK FORK — On senior night, senior Evrett Montgomery put together his best performance of the season.

The Clark Fork High standout netted a game-high 19 points, 13 in the second half, and buried three 3-pointers as the host Wampus Cats downed Priest River's junior varsity squad Tuesday by a 6-point margin.

"Evrett did exactly what you want your senior to do — he played good defense and became a scoring threat tonight," Clark Fork High head coach Stillman Berkley said. "It was great to see and his efforts are what pulled us through."

Junior Owen Howard notched his 11th double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds and came away with four steals and three blocks. Fellow junior Westin Caven collected nine points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals for Clark Fork, which outscored the Spartans 12-8 in the fourth quarter to capture the victory.

Sophomore Kane Berns led Priest River with 13 points.

Clark Fork (4-9, 0-3) will travel to Sandpoint to face their junior varsity team on Thursday.

Priest River JV 12 10 13 8 — 43

Clark Fork 14 8 15 12 — 49

PTS: CF — Montgomery 19, Howard 15, Caven 9, Adams 4, Cruz 2. PR — Berns 13, Smith 10, Best 8, Redinger 7, Bakos 2, Barth 2, Martinez 1.

REB: CF — Howard 14, Caven 7, Montgomery 4, Stevens 3, Adams 2, Yanik 1. PR — N/A.

AST: CF — Caven 3, Montgomery 2, Yanik 1. PR — N/A.

STL: CF — Howard 4, Caven 4, Adams 4, Montgomery 3, Yanik 2, Cruz 1. PR — N/A.

BLK: CF — Howard 3, Cruz 2, Caven 1. PR — N/A.

Day scores career-high 36 in Thunder win

Kootenai Thunder 55, Immaculate Conception 50

LIBERTY LAKE — If you were at the HUB Sports Center on Monday night, Dylan Day may have caught your attention.

The Kootenai Thunder senior, who has now reached double-digits in the scoring column in nine straight games, scored a career-high 36 points, including six 3-pointers, in a 5-point non-league statement win over the Cristeros.

Senior Malachi Duchow added seven points and team-high three steals and 11 rebounds for the Thunder, which used a 17-point fourth quarter to pull away.

Senior Melkam Manning contributed a team-high five assists while fellow senior Gavan Miles dished out four and drained a 3-pointer in the first quarter.

The Kootenai Thunder (12-6, 9-5) will be seeded third out of eight teams in the Mountain Christian League tournament, which starts Thursday and finishes Saturday. On Thursday, they’ll face off against sixth-seeded North Idaho Christian at the HUB Sports Center in Liberty Lake. 

Thunder Stats Only.

PTS: KT — Day 36, Duchow 7, Miles 3, Hernandez-Ortega 3, Peters 2, Palmer 2, Manning 2.

REB: KT — Duchow 11, Day 6, Miles 3, Manning 3, Palmer 3, Hernandez-Ortega 2, Peters 2.

AST: KT — Manning 5, Miles 4, Duchow 2, Day 1.

STL: KT — Duchow 3, Miles 2, Palmer 1, Manning 1, Day 1, Peters 1.

BLK: KT — Duchow 1.

Sandpoint Schedule Change

The Bulldogs were originally scheduled to host Coeur d'Alene this Thursday, Feb. 6. Instead, Sandpoint will now host St. Maries for senior night starting at 6 p.m. on that date. The home game against the Vikings has been moved back to Monday, Feb. 10, and will start at 7 p.m.

BOYS WRESTLING

Sandpoint vs. Lewiston 

LEWISTON — No information was available before deadline.

Sandpoint hosts Lake City today for a dual.

    Clark Fork High senior Evrett Montgomery drives by Priest River High sophomore Blake Smith during the Wampus Cats' 49-43 victory on Tuesday.
 
 


    Kootenai Thunder senior Gavan Miles drains a 3-pointer during Monday night's 55-50 win over Immaculate Conception Academy.