Bulldogs fend off Bengals, complete season sweep
Sophomore Daylee Driggs secures a rebound and looks to kick the ball out to a teammate on Saturday against Lewiston.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Sophomore Karlie Banks gets down low in the post and looks to score against Lewiston on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Senior Hattie Larson elevates for a layup on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Senior Kaylee Banks attacks the basket during the first half of Saturday's game.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Hattie Larson drives to the paint on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Senior Riley Cessna tracks down a loose ball on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Karlie Banks drives baseline on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
Kaylee Banks attempts a 3-pointer on Saturday.
(Photo by DYLAN GREENE)
SANDPOINT — Sandpoint girls basketball shut down Lewiston in the fourth quarter on Saturday to secure a 50-40 Inland Empire League victory and a season sweep of the Bengals.
Lewiston is rebuilding, but a sweep of a 5A opponent can't be overlooked, head coach Will Love said. Plus, it allows SHS to keep pace with 4A IEL rival Lakeland, who beat the Bengals twice as well.
"To get two wins against a 5A opponent, especially Lewiston that's well coached, that's huge for our program," he said.
To capture the win, Sandpoint had to overcome some troubles with free throws and turnovers.
In the opening quarter, the Bulldogs held Lewiston scoreless for the first five minutes. Then the Bengals woke up and went on a 7-0 run to trail 12-7 after the first quarter.
Lewiston caught fire from the outside in the second and grabbed a 17-15 lead about midway through the quarter. But just 30 seconds later, Riley Cessna buried a 3-pointer to kickstart the Sandpoint offense and get them back on track.
The Bengals hit four 3-pointers in the quarter, but the Bulldogs were able to cling to a 28-24 halftime advantage. Love gave credit to his offense for rising to the occasion in the second quarter and weathering Lewiston's barrage from deep.
The teams continued to go back and forth in the third quarter and Sandpoint held a two-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
The Bulldogs stepped up their defensive intensity down the stretch and held the Bengals to just two points in the fourth quarter.
"They did a good job of sending a baseline runner to kind of overload our zone and our kids started to recognize that," Love said about the Bulldogs defense late. "I think we were able to tighten things up as far as the guards were concerned, so that helped us in those rotations quite a bit."
Early in the fourth, Sandpoint got into the double bonus and had plenty of opportunities to seal the game at the free-throw line, but just couldn't convert. The Bulldogs went 11-28 from the charity stripe on Saturday.
"We should have had a huge quarter in the fourth quarter, but we missed a lot of free throws," Love said. "That's obviously something that's kind of hurt us throughout the season, so we'll definitely work on that, but the good news is we saw some offense today."
Both teams also struggled to take care of the ball. SHS committed 23 turnovers while Lewiston had 24.
Karlie Banks led the Bulldogs with 13 points, four rebounds, two steals and a block. Hattie Larson had nine points and five steals and Kaylee Banks tallied nine points and four assists. Destiny Lyons and Bella Phillips each had four points and Daylee Driggs added seven rebounds.
Sandpoint (7-7, 4-5 IEL) hosts Lakeland at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.
Lewiston 7 17 14 2 — 40
Sandpoint 12 16 12 10 — 50
LEWISTON — Collins 8, U'Ren 3, Hill 2, Bursch 0, Wessels 7, Barney 4, Ortiz 5, Kessinger 11, McRoberts 0, Taylor 0.
SANDPOINT — Gammon 0, Driggs 3, Reinink 2, Lyons 4, Tomco 0, Cessna 3, Phillips 4, Kar. Banks 13, Larson 9, Platte 3, Banks 9.
