NIC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL: Cardinals bounce back in second half, advance to Elite 8

PASCO, Wash. — Once the first one fell, it was contagious for North Idaho College at the outset of the second half in its Northwest Athletic Conference Championship opener on Thursday.

Addie Kiefer, a freshman from Lakeland High scored on a putback to start the run for NIC, which outscored South Puget Sound 27-10 in the third quarter of a 67-55 win in the quarterfinals at Columbia Basin College.

“I knew I wanted to play zone defense at some point,” first-year NIC coach Nathan Covill said. “We weren’t able to keep anyone in front of us playing man, but we found out that if packed it in a little, we were able to stay with them. We got into some foul trouble, and doing that allowed us to stay in the game”

Freshman Solei Elletson scored 18 points, Kiefer added 10 points and 11 rebounds for NIC (17-11), the third-seed from the East Region. NIC will face Lane (29-1) today at 4 p.m. for a spot in the Final Four next weekend in Pasco. Lane beat Bellevue 85-46 in their quarterfinal game.

“We found a way to get some touches in the paint and started to make some shots,” Covill said.

Freshman Meghan Calley scored 11, sophomore Laney Smith eight and freshman Katie Blume three points for NIC.

“Meghan, Katie and Laney came off the bench and gave us some big minutes,” Covill said. “Our defense tonight really got us where we needed to be. We’ve done a good job of holding teams under 60 points. I think we’ve realized that when we lock in on defense, we’re a good team. When we make shots, we’re a really good team.”

Sharay Trotter had 19 points and 10 rebounds for South Puget Sound (19-8), the runner-up from the West Region.

NORTH IDAHO

Sorrell Aldendorf 2-6 0-0 5, Solei Elletson 4-17 10-10 18, Addie Kiefer 4-10 2-2 10, Paige Beem 3-4 2-6 8, Kaylee Banks 2-5 0-0 5, Katie Blume 1-4 0-0 3, Laney Smith 2-9 4-4 8, Meghan Calley 3-6 3-4 11. Totals 21-61 21-26 67.

SOUTH PUGET SOUND

Honey Let Padasdao 1-3 0-0 2, Sharay Trotter 7-17 5-10 19, Payten Foster 4-10 2-4 10, Brandie Tobin 2-5 3-3 7, Nikeshia King 3-6 1-2 8, Emma Cheetham 1-6 0-0 3, Kandance Blankers 1-8 1-2 4, Emma Stadler 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 20-57 12-21 55.

North Idaho 6 16 27 18 — 67

S. Puget Sound 17 13 10 15 — 55

3-point goals — NIC 4-18 (Aldendorf 1-2, Elletson 0-3, Kiefer 0-1, Banks 0-2, Blume 1-1, Smith 0-5, Calley 2-4), SPS 3-19 (Padasdao 0-1, Trotter 0-1, Tobin 0-2, King 1-3, Blankers 1-2). Rebounds — NIC 34 (Kiefer 11), SPS 28 (Trotter 10). Assists — NIC 9 (Beem 3), SPS 11 (Trotter 5). Team fouls — NIC 21, SPS 27. Fouled out — Banks, Padasdao, Aldendorf, Foster. Technical fouls — Aldendorf.