4A DISTRICT 1-2 GIRLS BASKETBALL: Sandpoint holds Lakeland scoreless in OT to capture Game 1 victory

Sandpoint 48, Lakeland 39

SANDPOINT — Led by Karlie Banks, who had 24 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks, Sandpoint held off the Hawks in overtime to capture the first game of the 4A District 1-2 best-of-three series at Les Rogers Court Wednesday night.

Sandpoint trailed 17-12 after a low-scoring first half where Lakeland scored 15 of their first 17 points from behind the arc. It wasn’t until Banks, who had four 3-pointers on the night, hit the go-ahead triple with 3:28 remaining in the third quarter that Sandpoint finally had a lead in the contest. However, Lakeland’s Landree Simon responded for the Hawks, nailing a 3-pointer of her own before the buzzer to tie the game, 27-27. 

In the fourth, the Bulldogs were leading 37-30, all but on their way to victory, but Simon once again had other ideas, hitting another 3-pointer with 37.9 seconds remaining to tie the game, 39-39 … Overtime.

However, in overtime, it was all Sandpoint. The Bulldogs scored nine unanswered in front of an electric home crowd to take home the victory.

“Credit to Lakeland for how hard they played,” head coach Will Love said. “Defensively, they do some things that make it tough for teams to get into their offense. We struggled in that first half with 12 turnovers. It’s something we addressed at halftime … we still had a few turnovers — some bad ones that allowed Lakeland to get back into it in the fourth — but when we took care of the ball, we were able to score in that second half. All the credit to our girls for working hard and believing we could win this game.”

Love added that Banks’ offensive production was not the only thing crucial to Sandpoint’s victory Wednesday, but so was her production on the defensive end.

“Heck of a game for Karlie,” Love said. “It’s impressive to watch what she has been doing this entire season, especially since the new year. She is a tremendous player. One of the things that she does is score, which is awesome, and I stand in awe of how that ball goes in for her, but she is defensively so solid for us. She has been a great rim-protector for us this year.”

Adding some extra support for Sandpoint was Demi Driggs, who mustered eight points and six rebounds. Jordyn Tomco and Brecken Mire had six each; Mire also contributed a team-high three assists and four steals.

Sandpoint (19-3, 8-1) will face Lakeland (11-9, 3-6) in Game 2, which will be held at Les Rogers Court on Friday at 6 p.m.

Lakeland 12 5 10 12 0 – 39

Sandpoint 4 8 15 12 9 – 48

PTS: SPT – Banks 24, D. Driggs 8, B. Mire 6, Tomco 6, Richardson 3, Knowles 0, Laybourne 0. LAK – Simon 15, L. Kiefer 12, Sterling 6, Bretveld 2, Holte 2, K. Kiefer 2.

REB: SPT – Banks 10, D. Driggs 6, Laybourne 5, Richardson 5, Tomco 3, B. Mire 3. LAK – Bretveld 9, Simon 4, K. Kiefer 4, Holte 3, L. Kiefer 3, Sterling 3.

AST: SPT – B. Mire 3, Richardson 2, Banks 2, Tomco 1. LAK – K. Kiefer 5, Simon 3, L. Kiefer 2, Sterling 1.

STL: SPT – B. Mire 4, Banks 2, Richardson 1, Tomco 1. LAK – K. Kiefer 6, L. Kiefer 4, Simon 3.

BLK: SPT – Banks 5. LAK —Bretveld 1.