Sandpoint nearly spoils Vikings' perfect record
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE) Junior Bella Phillips goes up for a layup over a Coeur d’Alene defender during the game Tuesday night at Les Rogers Court.
SANDPOINT — Coming in, the Bulldogs knew it would be an uphill battle against 5A Coeur d’Alene.
The Vikings arrived in Sandpoint with a perfect 6-0 record, beating opponents by an average of 23 points per game.
On Tuesday night at Les Rogers Court, Sandpoint girls basketball went toe-to-toe with the Vikings, taking the lead twice in the fourth quarter of the game but ultimately fell short 56-47.
“This is something we believed we could do — compete with 5A schools,” Sandpoint head coach Will Love said. “So far we hadn’t be able to show that but what I’ve seen in practice and what I’ve seen in parts of those other games against the 5A’s, I knew that these kids had it in them.”
Despite being at a distinct height disadvantage, the Bulldogs battled in the first quarter making the Vikings work for every basket. Sandpoint trailed 13-9 after one quarter.
The second quarter saw the Bulldogs ferocious defense continue as Coeur d’Alene struggled to break down the Sandpoint zone.
The Vikings built a 21-12 lead late in the second quarter, but a steal and layup by freshman Kelsey Cessna helped the Bulldogs build some momentum and narrow the Coeur d’Alene lead to 21-16 at the half.
The Vikings out-rebounded Sandpoint 17-10 in the first half.
In the third quarter, Coeur d’Alene cushioned its lead, grabbing a 29-20 advantage. But the Bulldogs went on a 11-2 run to tie the game at 31-31 with just over a minute left in the quarter. Coeur d’Alene held on to take a 34-33 lead into the final eight minutes of action.
The teams went back and forth in the fourth quarter with the Bulldogs grabbing the lead twice early on. It wasn’t enough though as the Vikings knocked down a trio of three-pointers to pull away for their seventh win of the season.
Love said he was proud of the defensive effort from his team.
“We blew a couple of assignments and we still need to work on our close outs a little bit but I think the kids have improved quite a bit defensively and really started to understand the rotations and finding opportunities for steals,” he said.
Freshman Kelsey Cessna led Sandpoint with 14 points, four assists and three steals. Junior Hattie Larson added 12 points.
The Bulldogs (2-4) will remain at home to face Timberlake 7 p.m. Thursday.
SANDPOINT 9 7 17 14 — 47
COEUR d’ALENE 13 8 13 22 — 56
Sandpoint — Cessna 14, Day. Driggs 2, Morgan 7, Daw. Driggs 8, Phillips 4, Larson 12.
Coeur d’Alene — Brainard-Adams 16, Whiteman 6, Symons 8, Younker 5, Chavez 10, Burke 9.