SANDPOINT — Sandpoint girls lacrosse defeated Kamiakin, 7-6, in a back-and-forth battle at War Memorial Field on Saturday, April 29.

The Bulldogs took an early 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Kayla Beers and Alexis Downs. Downs, one of Sandpoint’s five seniors, finished with three goals in the contest; she has been one of Sandpoint’s most consistent scorers this season averaging 2.89 goals per game.

At halftime, Sandpoint found themselves leading 5-3 due to their relentless pressure on the offensive end. Rowan Davis, Terra Bode and Downs tacked on some more goals for the Bulldogs. Sandpoint dominated the time of possession. In turn, they outshot the Braves 20-10 in the match.

In the second half, the Bulldogs were leading 6-4 after a goal from Marine Browne but got into some trouble late in the game.

With about five minutes left in the contest, the game was knotted up at 6-6. However, Downs was eventually able to break the tie with a couple of minutes remaining to give the Bulldogs a 7-6 victory in the nail-biter.

“Our seniors are the core of our team, they won’t be easily replaced, but it is really encouraging to see our younger players develop and step up when called upon,” assistant coach Bill Aitken said.

The Bulldogs (6-3) will be back in action against the Spokane Stealth in their final game of the regular season on Wednesday, May 3 at the Dwight Merkel Complex in Spokane.

KAMIAKIN 6, SANDPOINT 7

GOALS: Sandpoint – Downs 3, Bode, Davis, Beers, Browne. Kamiakin – Andrews 3, Maya 2, O’Toole.

ASSISTS: Sandpoint – Aitken 3, Browne, Gavin. Kamiakin – None.

DRAWS: Sandpoint – Bode 2, Browne 2, Boge, Davis, Atencio, Gavin. Kamiakin – Andrews 4, Maya, Musser, Straw.

SV: Sandpoint – Sloan 4. Kamiakin – Holtfreter 13.