COEUR d’ALENE — What kind of team is Lake City, Timberwolf girls basketball coach Bryan Kelly wondered heading into Friday night’s game.

The team that lost by 22 points last week at Richland, a team Coeur d’Alene beat a few days later? Or the team that scored 25 points in a quarter vs. Pasco.

On this night, Lake City played like a team capable of competing with the best in the state.

Senior post Lauren Rewers, a Hawaii signee had 13 points and two blocked shots, and junior forward Keara Simpson added 10 points and five rebounds as the Timberwolves handed the second-ranked Boise Braves their first loss, 48-38.

“I challenged our posts the last couple days in practice,” Kelly said. “Keara and Lauren showed up. They did what I’ve been expecting them to do; they played great together. They attacked the basket. and they competed like they can. I was very proud of them.”

It was very much an inside job for Lake City (8-1), which landed just outside the top five in this week’s poll. Sophomore forward Bridget Rieken took advantage of a mismatch to score four inside baskets, and she finished with nine points, seven rebounds and five assists.

Nina Carlson, Lake City’s Idaho-bound forward, had 10 points and five assists. More importantly, she guarded Boise’s Mandy Simpson, a 6-1 guard-forward who has signed with Oklahoma. Simpson finished with 12 points and nine rebounds, but Carlson made her earn her points on 4-of-14 shooting from the field.

“Nina did a great job on Simpson,” Kelly said. “Nina gave her everything she wanted. Bridget did a great job of attacking, and Chloe (Teets) handled their pressure well. Against a really good team, we showed up and played.”

Lake City shot 20 of 37 from the field against Boise, which alternated between man and zone defense. Lake City played mostly straight man throughout, and the Braves (9-1), who beat two-time defending state champ Mountain View of Meridian last week, shot just 15 of 46 from the field.

“We struggled to put the ball in the hole quite a bit,” Boise coach Kim Brydges said. “I thought Lake City did a nice job defensively. Obviously with their size, they create some problems. We didn’t get as many second-chance opportunities as I’d like to see.”

Freshmen Madi Williams and 6-3 Peyton McFarland scored 10 and nine points, respectively, for the Braves. McFarland, guarded by Keara Simpson, was 3 for 11 from the field.

“We have two seniors, and we have a lot of youth in there,” Brydges said. “And I think a lot of our youth was playing against some very experienced players inside.”

Lake City took the lead late in the first quarter and never trailed again. Boise pulled within five late in the third quarter, only to see the T-Wolves open the lead up to 12 early in the fourth.

“We like to play these guys midseason, kind of test your mettle a little bit,” Brydges said. “And hopefully we’ll see them again in February.”

Lake City’s starters played the entire second half, and perhaps the T-Wolves sent a message to the rest of the state.

“I said, people don’t think you’re as good as everybody else,” Kelly said, “and I think we’ll be OK. We’ve got work to do, but if we can come out and play like that, we’re going to be tough to beat.”

Lake City was scheduled to play host to Kuna today, but the Kavemen didn’t travel when school was canceled down there on Friday.

Boise plays at Lewiston today on the way back home.

Boise 11 7 8 12 — 38

Lake City 12 13 10 13 — 48

BOISE — Dingel 2, Golo 0, Williams 10, Bonnet 0, Davis 5, Carrell 0, M. Simpson 12, Hall 0, McFarland 9.

LAKE CITY — Allen 0, Barber 2, Carlson 10, Rieken 9, Teets 4, Rewers 13, K. Simpson 10.