Sandpoint 59, Lakeland 50

SANDPOINT — The Lady Bulldogs got the revenge they were looking for, and in doing so, punched their ticket to the 5A state tournament.

Sandpoint High sophomore Jordyn Tomco tallied a career-high 33 points, 16 in the fourth quarter, and hauled in a team-high seven rebounds as the No. 1 Lady Bulldogs used a 23-12 fourth quarter scoring advantage to defeat the No. 2 Lady Hawks, recapturing the 5A Inland Empire League district title Thursday night at Les Rogers Court.

Last season, Lakeland, touted as the underdogs, defeated Sandpoint in the final two games of the district tournament best-of-three series. This year, Sandpoint turned the tables.

"We really didn't change a whole lot in regards to the gameplan because we trusted that the next girl was going to step up," Sandpoint High head coach Will Love said when asked about how things changed with Sandpoint star guard Brecken Mire absent from the lineup due to an injury. "We've had a solid group of eight that we've been playing regularly. We shortened our bench a little bit and had to be more strategic with substitutions, but really, we just try to play a lot of basketball so that in cases like this, we're ready to go and it's not as much of an issue."

And as it turns out, playing a lot of basketball has its perks.

Sandpoint started out the contest with an early 7-6 lead, but Lakeland used a 17-5 run to take a 23-12 lead midway through the second. The Lady Bulldogs, who were 23-for-34 from the free throw line on the night, went 8-for-9 from the line in the second quarter and eventually cut the lead to 28-25 by the time halftime rolled around.

Tied 32-32 with 3:05 remaining in the third quarter after a baseline drive that ended in a score by junior Mia Driggs, Tomco, who hit three 3-pointers en route to her career-high, helped Sandpoint regain the lead for the first time since the first quarter with a couple of made free throws.

However, the Lady Hawks weren't going away anytime soon.

Down 40-36 with 6:25 remaining in the contest, Sandpoint rattled off a 19-3 run. Tomco, aided by up-and-under finishes by sophomore Livia Driggs and senior Chloe Laybourne, drove the lane often and fought through contact to score 14 of those 19 points.

"I was really focused on winning for our seniors, winning for Brecken," Tomco said. "Her favorite thing to do is play basketball and she couldn't do that tonight ... we really fought for her and all of our seniors. Brecken and I have a goal of making it to state every year and we got one step closer to that tonight."

Tomco said due to her hours and hours of hard work in the gym, putting up tough shots like the ones she made to help Sandpoint to the win ... that gave her the belief in herself she needed coming into yesterday's game.

"All those hours aren't for nothing, practice makes perfect," Tomco said. "I had to believe in myself, manifest it, and make it happen."

Tomco, who was 10-for-11 on the night from the charity stripe, got some much needed help from her supporting cast — Laybourne tied her career-high, finishing with nine points, while Livia Driggs and senior Demi Driggs both netted seven for Sandpoint.

"We talked a lot about staying together throughout the game, playing for 32 minutes and competing hard," Love said. "The girls did that and caught fire, especially Jordyn during that fourth quarter. I'm supper happy for the girls. We laid out our season goals and they stuck with it, even with those 10 losses. We kept telling them it's a learning process and that we have to grow, build each day, and as coach Madi (Schoening) would say 'get 1% better' — the girls did that."

Senior Landree Simon, who recently committed to the University of Providence (NAIA) in Great Falls, Mont., had 23 points, including four 3-pointers, and pulled down 10 rebounds for a double-double for Lakeland, which finishes the season with a record of 15-7.

The 5A state tournament will be held at Mountain View High School, starting Thursday, Feb. 20, and concluding Saturday, Feb. 22. Sandpoint (14-10), which has won seven straight, will know their first-round opponent sometime early next week.

Lakeland 17 11 10 12 — 50

Sandpoint 8 17 11 23 — 59

PTS: SPT — Tomco 33, Ch. Laybourne 9, D. Driggs 7, L. Driggs 7, M. Driggs 2, Ca. Laybourne 1. LL — Simon 23, Bretveld 11, Kar. Kiefer 7, Bowie 5, Bullington 2, J. McMurray 2.

REB: SPT — Tomco 7, Ch. Laybourne 6, Ca. Laybourne 5, D. Driggs 3, L. Driggs 3, Thaete 3, M. Driggs 2. LL — Simon 10, Bowie 8, Kar. Kiefer 5, J. McMurray 5, Bretveld 4, Bullington 4.

AST: SPT — Ca. Laybourne 2, Ch. Laybourne 2, D. Driggs 1, L. Driggs 1, Thaete 1. LL — Kar. Kiefer 5, Simon 2, Bretveld 1, J. McMurray 1.

STL: SPT — Ch. Laybourne 2, Thaete 1, L. Driggs 1, Tomco 1, D. Driggs 1. LL — Kar. Kiefer 3, Bowie 1, Bretveld 1.

BLK: SPT — Tomco 1. LL — Bullington 2, Kar. Kiefer 1.

    Sandpoint High sophomore Jordyn Tomco dribbles by Lakeland High junior Karystn Kiefer and scores during Thursday night's contest.