Sandpoint 44, Lakeland 42

SANDPOINT — When it mattered most, the Lady Bulldogs played some of their toughest basketball of the season.

Sophomore Jordyn Tomco had a team-high 14 points, 11 in the second half, and drained three 3-pointers, sophomore Livia Driggs added 10 and the two combined to score all of the Lady Bulldogs' 16 fourth quarter points as No. 1 Sandpoint took down No. 2 Lakeland in the first game of the 5A Inland Empire League best-of-three district tournament series held Tuesday at Les Rogers Court.

Down 35-28 with 7:40 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Lady Bulldogs put together a 16-7 run to close the contest. However, it wasn't your typical 16-7 run as Sandpoint's leading scorer Brecken Mire, who had 12 points, didn't play in the fourth due to an injury.

"Unfortunately injuries happen and you only get a little time to process it and then be back out on the court," Sandpoint High head coach Will Love said. "When Brecken went out, we told the girls that she would be telling them to go out there, fight their hardest and get this win — that she wouldn't expect anything else out of all those girls who got in during that fourth quarter."

Well, that message certainly resonated with the team.

Tomco hit a floater on a determined drive to the hoop and then a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to bring Sandpoint within 35-33. A couple of minutes later, now down 38-34, Tomco hit another 3-pointer from the left corner to keep the Lady Bulldogs in it — a 3 that came after an extra effort by senior Chloe Laybourne, who secured an offensive rebound on the possession.

Laybourne finished with eight points and seven rebounds despite being outsized by Lakeland's forwards by a noticeable margin.

"Chloe really stepped up," coach Love said. "She brings those intangible things and was even bringing us into our offense in the fourth quarter. She's worked hard over the last four years to be the best basketball player she can be as well as a great teammate. She's done an excellent job as a leader. Going in there and battling against Lakeland's bigs like that, just a credit to her on how she was able to bring that senior leadership tonight."

Under Laybourne's leadership at point guard, Sandpoint was able to keep Lakeland's defense off-balance. Down 40-39, Tomco and Livia Driggs made their way into the paint often and connected on 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch and the Lady Bulldogs' defense made multiple stops during the final two minutes to get the victory.

"Really proud of the team tonight for their effort throughout all 32 minutes," coach Love said. "We did an excellent job and it started on the defensive end. Our zone rattled them. On the offensive end, especially in the fourth, we did a good job of moving the basketball and looking for the spots we could attack."

Junior Karstyn Kiefer had a game-high 19 points and three steals for Lakeland, which beat Sandpoint twice during the regular season by scores of 60-50 and 49-41.

Sandpoint (13-10), which is now riding a 6-game winning streak, will host Lakeland for game two of the 5A IEL best-of-three district tournament series on Thursday starting at 6 p.m.

Lakeland 12 10 11 9 — 42

Sandpoint 11 11 6 16 — 44

PTS: SPT — Tomco 14, Mire 12, L. Driggs 10, Ch. Laybourne 8. LL — Kar. Kiefer 19, Bretveld 9, Simon 7, J. McMurray 5, Bullington 2.

REB: SPT — Ch. Laybourne 7, Thaete 2, Mire 2, L. Driggs 2, Tomco 2, D. Driggs 2, Ca. Laybourne 2. LL — Bullington 9, Bretveld 8, Simon 7, Kar. Kiefer 3, J. McMurray 3, Forsman 1,

AST: SPT — L. Driggs 3, Tomco 1, Ca. Laybourne 1, Ch. Laybourne 1. LL — J. McMurray 2, Simon 2, Kar. Kiefer 1, Bowie 1.

STL: SPT — L. Driggs 1, Tomco 1. LL — Kar. Kiefer 3, Simon 1.

BLK: SPT — L. Driggs 1. LL — Bretveld 2.