PREP BASKETBALL: Sandpoint girls fall to Middleton in opening round of state tourney
Sandpoint High sophomore Livia Driggs drives past the Middleton defense and scores during Thursday's 5A state tournament first round game held at Mountain View High.
Photo by Jason Duchow Photography
GIRLS BASKETBALL
Middleton 75, Sandpoint 35
MERIDIAN — Sophomore Livia Driggs scored 11 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field as the No. 6 Lady Bulldogs fell to the No. 3 Lady Vikings in a 5A state tournament game held Thursday at Mountain View High.
Sophomore Jordyn Tomco tallied nine points, sophomore Brecken Mire five points and three assists, and senior Chloe Laybourne netted four points and pulled down six rebounds for Sandpoint (14-11), which trailed 35-16 at intermission and will face No. 7 Jerome (17-9), who lost to No. 2 Mountain Home 50-39 in their opener, in a consolation game at Mountain View High in Meridian at 11 a.m. PST today.
"Middleton had some early 3s on us that got us out of sync and had us playing catch up," Sandpoint High head coach Will Love said. "We still thought at certain points we were going to be able to cut that lead, but trying to play behind against Middleton is pretty difficult. They put a ton of pressure on you both offensively and defensively."
Senior Elsie Wyatt had a game-high 15 points, including three 3-pointers, while sophomore Olivia Blackwell and freshman Dawn Holman both registered 13 points and combined for Middleton's four other 3-pointers on the afternoon. No. 3 Middleton (24-1) will face off against No. 2 Mountain Home (20-4) in the championship semifinals at the Ford Idaho Center in Nampa at 4 p.m. PST today.
"We knew Middleton might be one of the best three-seeds that you're going to face in a tournament like this," Love said. "Not to take anything away from Poky (Pocatello) or Mountain Home, because they're two great teams, but this was a team that returned most of its players who made the 6A (then 5A) state tournament last year ... they're a legit contender for the state title this year and probably for the next couple of years with their youth."
Love believes the matchup with Jerome, a team that he has tons of respect for, will be a good challenge for his Lady Bulldogs.
"Some of the things we weren't able to do today, especially as a young team, may be a little easier in some ways tomorrow," Love said. "We need to go out and execute because Jerome has had a great season and does some really good things. We've faced things (adversities) like this before ... but we've bounced back. We're excited to get back at it."
Sandpoint 8 8 12 7 — 35
Middleton 19 16 19 21 — 75
PTS: SPT — L. Driggs 11, Tomco 9, Mire 5, Ch. Laybourne 4, Thaete 2, D. Driggs 2, Ca. Laybourne 2. MID — Wyatt 15, Holman 13, O. Blackwell 13, Z. Blackwell 8, C. Steele 6, M. Steele 6, Coombs 5, Rogers 3, Apple 2, F. Fried 2, Stewart 2.
REB: SPT — Ch. Laybourne 6, Tomco 4, L. Driggs 2, D. Driggs 2, Ca. Laybourne 2, Mire 2, Thaete 1. MID — A. Fried 5, M. Steele 4, O. Blackwell 4, Z. Blackwell 3, C. Steele 3, Coombs 3, Holman 3, Stewart 2, Wyatt 2, Rogers 1.
AST: SPT — Mire 3, Tomco 2, Ch. Laybourne 1. MID — Z. Blackwell 3, O. Blackwell 1, M. Stelle 1, Pietrok 1.
STL: SPT — L. Driggs 1, Mire 1, Thaete 1. MID — Z. Blackwell 3, Coombs 3, Holman 3, O. Blackwell 1, C. Steele 1, Wyatt 1, M. Steele 1.
BLK: SPT — Tomco 1, Thaete 1, M. Driggs 1, D. Driggs 1. MID — M. Steele 2, Holman 1, F. Fried 1, A. Fried 1.
BOYS BASKETBALL
Priest River-Timberlake Canceled
Thursday's matchup between the Spartans and Tigers was canceled due to a smoke problem at Timberlake High. Conditions were deemed not safe to hold a game. The non-league contest was supposed to be the season finale for both teams.
No. 1 Priest River (14-4, 7-1) will host the winner of No. 4 Orofino/No. 5 Grangeville for the opening round of the 3A Central Idaho League district tournament at 6 p.m. Monday.