BOISE - Whitney Meier scored 17 of her 22 points in the first half as the Lake City Timberwolves started strong in beating the Highland Rams of Pocatello 53-46 on Thursday night at Timberline High as part of three games in three days in Boise vs. other 5A teams statewide.

Meier made 3 of 5 3-pointers for Lake City (7-1), ranked fourth in this week's state 5A media poll. The Timberwolves led by as much as 19 points in the first half.

"The first half was the best we've played all season," Lake City coach Bryan Kelly said. "Getting on a bus at 5 in the morning ... no excuses. They stepped off the bus and were really focused."

Guard Maren Herrud, who has signed with Division I Southern Utah in Cedar City, Utah, led Highland (7-3) with 20 points.

Clarissa Smith added 16 points for Lake City. Olyvia Maryon had five rebounds, Natalie Wheelock four assists. Meier had five steals, and drew a pair of charges on Herrud.

Lake City plays at Borah of Boise tonight at 6:30 PST.

Lake City 18 18 6 11 - 53

Highland 9 14 11 12 - 46

LAKE CITY - Eborall 0, Dvorak 0, Carlson 0, Wheelock 10, Smith 16, O. Maryon 3, Rewers 2, Meier 22, Simpson 0.

HIGHLAND - Wheatley 2, Pokibro 7, Farrer 0, Geritz 11, Hancock 2, Herrud 20, Robinson-Sanada 2, Batts 2.

Post Falls 55

East Valley 44

POST FALLS - Melody Kempton totaled 20 points, 10 rebounds, six steals and five blocked shots as the Trojans beat the Knights in nonleague play at The Arena.

"Melody was the difference in the game; they didn't have an answer for her the entire game," Post Falls coach Marc Allert said.

Kim Reynolds scored 11 of her 13 points in the second half for Post Falls (8-2), including eight in the third quarter as the Trojans turned a one-point halftime deficit into a seven-point lead.

"They outplayed us the first half. We didn't shoot real well, but they worked real hard, and forced us into some tough shots we didn't make," Allert said. "In the second half we executed a little better, and we got some easy buckets off turnovers."

Shayna Allert had eight points and seven rebounds for Post Falls.

Skylar Bastin led East Valley (5-1) with 11 points. Hannah Burland scored all nine of her points in the first quarter before suffering an apparent ankle injury in the second. She did not return.

Post Falls hosts Lakeland tonight at 5:30 in the Prairie Pig spirit game.

East Valley 15 7 10 12 - 44

Post Falls 11 10 18 16 - 55

EAST VALLEY - H. Burland 9, Phelan 1, Fletcher 0, M. Bastin 1, E. Burland 7, Moore 2, S. Bastin 11, Cameron 7, Gilbert 6.

POST FALLS - Allert 8, O. Ellison 0, A. Ellison 2, Brennan 5, King 0, McComb 2, Anderson 0, Kempton 20, Runkle 5, Reynolds 13.

Cd'A Charter 36

Kellogg 33

COEUR d'ALENE - Anna Verhaeghe had 14 points and 11 rebounds, leading the Panthers past the Wildcats in a nonleague game at Holy Family Catholic School.

"We really handled their pressure a lot better this time around," said Coeur d'Alene Charter coach Doug Grant, whose team lost 34-16 in the season opener at Kellogg on Nov. 18. "And we kept them off the foul line, which was the two biggest deals we set out to do. I was really pleased team wide and was really proud of the girls and how they handled their pressure."

Jackie Jensen had seven points and 14 rebounds for Coeur d'Alene Charter (5-2), which hosts Valley Christian on Saturday at Holy Family Catholic School.

Andee Wendt and Kayla Miller scored six points each for Kellogg (8-2), which hosts Deer Park on Saturday.

Kellogg 9 9 9 6 - 33

Cd'A Charter 16 2 7 11 - 36

KELLOGG - Arthur 0, Wendt 6, Twidt 0, Golob 5, Lo 2, Zisk 5, Sheppard 2, Chambers 5, Bumgardner 2, Bircher 0, Miller 6.

COEUR d'ALENE CHARTER - Alexander 5, Bartlett 7, Lehosit 3, Taylor 0, Verhaeghe 14, Zolman 0, Jensen 7.

Christian Center 49

The Oaks 36

LIBERTY LAKE - Jaicie Purvis had 12 points and seven rebounds, leading the Lions past The Oaks in a Mountain Christian League game at the HUB Sports Center.

Shannon Kempton had nine points, seven rebounds and four steals for Christian Center (6-0, 5-0 MCL), which plays in the Tri-State tournament Dec. 29-30 at the HUB Sports Center in Liberty Lake.

The Oaks 6 7 10 13 - 36

Christian Center 14 14 7 14 - 49

THE OAKS - Sezern 5, T. Dierdorff 4, Kim 13, S. Moderman 0, Love 10, B. Moderman 2, H. Dierdorff 2, Jenkins 0.

CHRISTIAN CENTER - Sovereign 4, Purvis 12, Kempton 9, Soumas 7, Barnhardt 4, Ripatti 0, Ryssel 4, Engels 5, Wood 0, May 0.