Badgers fall to Bulldogs in second game of season

BONNERS FERRY — After leading by 14 points at the end of the first quarter, 4A Sandpoint (1-0)  cruised to a 66-47 road victory over 3A Bonners Ferry (0-2) on Tuesday Nov. 21 in non-league play.

“It’s a great win for our first game of the season against a Bonners Ferry team who I believe is really going to improve over the course of this year,” said head coach Will Love.

Sandpoint is the defending 4A state champion and Bulldog Aliya Strock was the 4A girls basketball player of the year for 2022-23 season. 

In the first, Sandpoint’s defense was all over the Badgers. With around three minutes left in the quarter, Strock had two steals on back-to-back possessions for the Bulldogs. One of those turnovers resulted in a two-point jump shot by Brecken Mire, assisted by Strock; the other one Strock converted a coast-to-coast layup to put the Bulldogs ahead 22-9. From there, the Bulldogs ran away with the game, leading the Badgers 43-25 at the half.

For Bonners Ferry, Sydney Hinthorn led the way with 17 points. Despite being heavily contested in the paint, Asha Abubakari finished with 15 points for the Badgers. Freshman Taren Bateman had 11 points. The Badgers also had 17 offensive rebounds on the night.

Bonners Ferry head coach Mike Cowley said the Badgers second half was not as strong as their first. He said Sandpoint as the defending 4A champions played tough defense on Taren Batemen. 

“They played in her face the entire game, which takes getting used to and she doesn’t face that intensity at practice,” he said. 

Strock earned 19 points and six rebounds, Karlie Banks scored 18 points of her own and hauled in five rebounds. In their freshman debuts, Mire scored 10 points and Jordyn Tomco had seven points for the Bulldogs. Junior Chloe Laybourne had six points, three assists, and a team-high 11 rebounds.

“Defensively, I was pleased with holding (Bonners Ferry) freshman Taren Bateman to just 11 points; she is a heck of a player,” Love said. “Credit to Brecken for a job well done on defense.”

Cowely said between games the team will have time to focus on fundamentals and team dynamics. 

The Badger girls host Stillwater Christian on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 4:30 p.m. 

Sandpoint 26 17 13 10 – 66

Bonners Ferry 12 13 9 13 – 47

PTS: SPT – Strock 19, Banks 18, Mire 10, Tomco 7, Laybourne 6, Richardson 3, Driggs 3. BF – Hinthorn 17, Abubakari 15, Bateman 11, Pluid 3, Petesch 1.

    Sydney Hinthorn goes in for a shot against Sandpoint on Nov. 21.