Staggs ignites Cardinals in runaway win

CENTRALIA, Wash. - Freshman guard Kara Staggs ignited a 57-point charge in the second half as the North Idaho College women's basketball team beat host Centralia College 85-53 in the semifinals of the Lower Columbia College tournament on Saturday night.

NIC (14-2) will faces Umpqua in today's championship game at 3 p.m.

"We came out extremely flat in the first half," NIC assistant coach Cal DeHaas said. "But we had a better scoring mentality in the second half. Both Kara and Georgia (Stirton) really got us rolling in the second half."

Staggs finished with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting and 4-of-8 from beyond the 3-point line.

"She was just a little bit off in the first half," DeHaas said. "But when she dials it in, she can hit a bunch in a row. We had more of a scoring mentality in the second half, but Kara just knows how to make that adjustment and how to fix it in a hurry."

Renae Mokrzycki had 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists for NIC.

NORTH IDAHO

Georgia Stirton 3-5 1-1 9, Katie King 1-4 0-0 3, Jansen Butler 2-7 0-0 6, Bailey Schroeder 0-2 1-2 1, Morgan Grier 3-7 1-1 8, Ryleigh Swagerty 2-4 2-2 7, Kara Staggs 7-12 5-6 23, Sabrina Earle 0-2 0-1 0, Renae Mokrzycki 4-9 9-12 17, Caitlyn Behymer 0-1 1-2 1, Maggie Kirscher 0-1 0-0 0, Panisessi Taimani 4-7 2-2 10. Totals 26-61 23-30 85.

CENTRALIA COLLEGE

Karina Gee 2-9 0-0 4, Lauren Fisher 1-3 0-0 2, Kendra Preuninger 3-88 3-4 11, Alisha Sorensen 2-5 1-6 6, Leah Davis 2-10 0-0 4, Miranda McDonald 0-3 3-4 3, Julia Myers 3-4 1-2 9, Megan Finger 1-1 2-2 5, McKenzie DeVore 1-1 0-0 3, Courtney Kaupu 2-6 2-2 6, Crystal Narolski 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-50 12-20 63.

Halftime - NIC 28-27. 3-point goals - NIC 10-27 (Stirton 1-1, King 1-4, Butler 2-4, Schroeder 0-2, Grier 1-4, Swagerty 1-3, Staggs 4-8, Earle 0-1), CC 7-23 (Gee 0-5, Preuninger 2-7, Sorensen 1-2, Davis 0-4, McDonald 0-1, Myers 2-2, Finger 1-1, DeVore 1-1). Rebounds - NIC 47 (Grier, Mokrzycki 7), CC 31 (Preuninger, Sorensen 5). Assists - NIC 15 (Stirton, Mokrzycki 4), CC 10 (Davis 4). Team fouls - NIC 16, CC 20. Fouled out - none.