SHS alumna Grace Kirscher earns All-Big Sky basketball honors
(Photo by ERIC PLUMMER) Grace Kirscher passes out of a double-team in a home game against Lake City on Nov. 11, 2017.
(Photo by ERIC PLUMMER) Sandpoint girls basketball players surround Grace Kirscher (center) as she hoists the 4A District 1 trophy after Sandpoint’s 69-48 win over Moscow on Feb. 10, 2018.
Sandpoint basketball fans could file this under “not surprising.”
Bulldog alumna and Eastern Washington University freshman Grace Kirscher (‘18) earned honorable mention honors on the Big Sky’s all-conference team.
Not only that, Kirscher was one of two freshmen (the other being Big Sky Freshman of the Year Gina Marxen) to win all-conference awards.
Kirscher made her presence known immediately for the Eastern Washington Eagles, who have had a few setbacks in its 12-19 season, which continues tomorrow at 8 p.m. against Northern Colorado in the Big Sky Tournament semifinals.
In EWU’s third game of the season, the Sandpoint scorer of old came off the bench to score 21 points in a against NCAA Tournament-bound BYU team on Nov. 17.
Her reward? Her first-career start against Utah four days later.
When all was said and done, Kirscher started in 23 out of EWU’s 31 games, averaged 10.6 points per game and set a career-high of 22 points (on 6-6 shooting from beyond the arc) against Southern Utah.
Like she did in so many games at Les Rogers Court, Kirscher has become a three-point specialist for the Eagles. Per HerHoopStats.com, Kirscher’s 50.2 effective field goal percentage is tops on the team and she gets 51.9 percent of points from beyond the arc — all while playing relatively mistake-free basketball.
Kirscher scored over 1,000 points during her four-year Sandpoint varsity girls basketball career. As a senior, she capped off her career by winning Gatorade Player of the Year honors for the state of Idaho and winning MVP honors in both the District 1 and the state-wide all-star games.
In league play, Kirscher earned Co-Newcomer of the Year honors in her freshman season and didn’t look back. She avoided a sophomore slump by earning all-league honors, then was the 4A IEL Player of the Year in her junior and senior seasons.