No. 1 Cd'A races past Post Falls
MARK NELKE | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 14 years AGO
Mark Nelke covers high school and North Idaho College sports, University of Idaho football and other local/regional sports as a writer, photographer, paginator and editor at the Coeur d’Alene Press. He has been at The Press since 1998 and sports editor since 2002. Before that, Mark was the one-man sports staff for 16 years at the Bonner County Daily Bee in Sandpoint. Earlier, he was sports editor for student newspapers at Spokane Falls Community College and Eastern Washington University. Mark enjoys the NCAA men's basketball tournament and wiener dogs — and not necessarily in that order. | November 18, 2011 8:15 PM
POST FALLS - Coeur d'Alene High's speedy guards turned the first half of Thursday night's game into a track meet, continually beating the Post Falls Trojans down the floor on the fast break.
The result - the Vikings built an 18-point halftime lead en route to a 61-32 victory over the Trojans in the 5A Inland Empire League opener for both schools at The Arena.
"That's the kind of style we've got to have," Coeur d'Alene coach Dale Poffenroth said. "We don't have much size. Sydney (Williams) is big, but she's not big, so we have to run. It's not the style you saw last year."
Guards Erin Legel, Kyeli Parker and Caelyn Orlandi kept the pressure on early, and Legel scored a game-high 19 points for Coeur d'Alene (2-0), ranked No. 1 in 5A in Idaho. Orlandi had four assists, Legel three as the Vikings passed the ball well, as per usual.
"We just did a poor job in transition," Post Falls coach Marc Allert said. "We didn't match up very well when we got there. We just didn't do a very good job playing defense."
Williams, a sophomore post, had 14 points, eight rebounds and two steals.
"That's what has to happen - some sophomore has to step up and contribute every time we play, or it's not going to work too well," Poffenroth said.
Post Falls committed 14 of its 21 turnovers in the first half, and made just 10 of 19 free throws. The Trojans did cause a few third-quarter turnovers when they switched to a zone defense.
“Right now, we’re a program that doesn’t really know what we don’t know yet,” Allert said. “We’re just starting out, and trying to figure each other out, playing against an established program. Obviously there’s a big difference right now.”
Junior Brooke Litalien led Post Falls with eight points.
“His kids are vastly improved over where they’ve been in the past,” Poffenroth said of Allert’s Trojans. “They play hard; he’s got good pieces to make things go. He’s done a nice job; he’s got a lot of good-looking young kids that are only going to get better.”
On Tuesday, Coeur d’Alene plays at Lakeland, and Post Falls is home vs. Lake City.
Coeur d’Alene 17 15 10 19 — 61
Post Falls 7 7 7 11 — 32
COEUR d’ALENE — S. Parker 5, Sumner 5, Chalich 0, Orlandi 2, C. Williams 3, K. Parker 4, Tackett 0, Legel 19, Brainard 5, Wellsandt 4, S. Williams 14.
POST FALLS — Waller 3, Gonzales 6, King 1, Franklin 2, Hedge 0, Smith 0, Litalien 8, Runkle 2, Failor 7, Perrin 3.
ARTICLES BY MARK NELKE
BIG SKY FOOTBALL KICKOFF: Vandals expect big things from Priest River's McLain
BIG SKY FOOTBALL KICKOFF: Vandals expect big things from Priest River's McLain
Former Clark Fork High star athlete undergoes successful heart transplant surgery
The former Windy Eagle, a star athlete at Clark Fork High, had been awaiting a new heart since 2022, when she was diagnosed with cardiac sarcoidosis, an autoimmune disease which attacks the electrical system of her heart.
PREP FOOTBALL: Post Falls runs past Sandpoint
Sandpoint (2-1) hosts Davis High of Yakima on Friday.