Varsity Basketball Battle for the Border — Dec. 8
Mia Blackmore scores two points against Lincoln County High School at the Battle for the Border on Wednesday, Dec. 8. Blackemore had eight points against St. Maries on Dec. 11 and a three-pointer against Kellogg on Tuesday, Dec. 14.
Photo by CYNTHIA BONSANT
Riley Petesch making a basket against Clark Fork earlier in the season. Against Lincoln County at the Battle for the Border Petsech had four points and three rebounds. He had two points and one rebound against St. Maries.
BONNERS FERRY — The Badgers and Eureka, Mont., girls basketball teams battled it out at the Battle for the Border, but the Badgers could not keep up the pace and fell behind in the fourth quarter, losing 45-38.
Head coach Travis Hinthorn said that the Lions had some big guards who gave them opportunities at the basket and outrebounded the Badgers' 5-foot, 3-inch guards. The Badgers had players out due to sprained ankles and other injuries.
The Badgers led 13-12 at the end of the first quarter. The height of Lions’ wings and guards gave them more opportunity for baskets and is what brought down the Badgers, Hinthorn said. When the tall wings screened out the Badgers on defense, this gave the Lions perfect pick-and-roll opportunities for Reena Truman (5-foot-11) and Ixone Coteron (5-foot-9) who always looked to the basket.
In the second quarter the Lions broke away, leading the Badgers 25-18. Bonners Ferry came back strong from the locker room with Avery Bayer scoring a three-pointer. The Lions answered with a basket. Bayer responded with a steal and an assist to Mai Blackmore, making the score 27-23.
With 4:35 remaining in the third quarter Blackmore outwitted the Lions and sank a three-pointer off a steal from Morgan Burt and Badgers led 30-29. The Lions only scored one free throw from the line finishing the third 30-30.
The fourth was scoreless until 4:39 left when defense from both teams was intense. It was a slow kill on the Lions part. The Badgers kept sending them to the free throw line.
The Lions were only 57% from the line overall, but gained eight points from free throws in the final minutes of the game. The Lions also scored seven points in the last four minutes with the Badgers only scoring eight points. Overall the game was filled with anticipation and an energetic display from the crowd.
The Badgers trailed 36-38 with less than a minute but were outscored 2-7 to close out the game in a 38-45 loss to the Lions of Lincoln County High School from Eureka.
“They would pull away by about 6 or 8 and then we would close the gap,” Hinthorn said. “We were down 2 with about 40 seconds at the end and had to foul, credit to Eureka, they made their free throws. They were a good team with three big guards. This game made us better.”
Mia Blackmore led the Badgers with 11 points, including three three-pointers and grabbed 10 rebounds. Asha Abubakari had nine points and a team high 13 rebounds. Avery Bayer filled the stat sheet with two three pointers for six points and had four steals, four assists and three rebounds.
BONNERS FERRY (4-3) 13 5 12 8 38
LINCOLN COUNTY 12 13 5 15 45
Bonners Ferry: Blackmore 11, Abubakari 9, Sumpter 6, A. Bayer 6, Pluid 4, Villaluz 2, Burt 0.
Eureka: Coteron 14, Pluid 10, Truman 9, Stanger 6, Sharp 3, Brown 2, Sanchez 1 Durden 0.
The boys beat Lincoln County in the Battle for the Border 79-63.
The Badgers came out claws first, with Braeden Blackmore scoring back to back baskets in the first two Badger possessions, bringing the battle to the Lions.
The Badgers had eight fouls in the first quarter forcing Lincoln County to the free throw line five times in the first quarter. The Lions only missed one free throw and the first ended tied 19-all.
At half time the score was 35-30 Badgers leading. The Badgers pressed the Lions and kept the lead going into the fourth quarter 54-50. Ethan Hubbard had a steal on the first play of the fourth quarter, setting the tone for the last eight minutes.
The Badgers racked up fouls all game, but they made up from the Lions sinking free throws by getting in the paint. The Badgers scored 25 points and kept up on defense. After Blackmore blocked a shot from the Lions and Ethan Hubbard sank a three-pointer the Badgers broke away finishing 16 points ahead of Lincoln County winning the Battle for the Border.
Asher Williams was four for four on his free throws and sank three three-pointers. Two were extra shots after being fouled while scoring. Blake Rice took a charge and Blackmore led the team with 21 points and eight rebounds. Blake Rice had three steals each and pestered the Lions on defense.
Lincoln County leads the Battle for the Border 5-2. The Badgers and Lions will meet again in the spring for the spring sports season.
BONNERS FERRY (3-3) 19 16 19 25 79
LINCOLN COUNTY (2-1) 19 11 20 13 63
Bonners Ferry: Williams 23, 3 rebounds, Blackmore 23, 9 rebounds, 2 steals, Petersen 7, Hubbard 7, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, Rice 6, 8 rebounds, 2 steals, 3 assists, Riley Petesch 4, 3 rebounds, Henslee 2, 5 rebounds, Trey Bateman 2, 2 rebounds.
